HM Treasury

Public Sector: Pay

Royston Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of public sector workers pay (a) basic rate, (b) higher rate and (c) additional rate income tax.

Mel Stride: The Government does not centrally collate data on the proportion of public sector workers paying basic, higher or additional rates of income tax.

Investment

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have invested through the (a) Enterprise Investment Scheme, (b) Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and (c) venture capital trusts in each year since 2012.

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was invested through (a) the Enterprise Investment Scheme, (b) the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and (c) venture capital trusts in each year since 2012.

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies received investment from (a) the Enterprise Investment Scheme, (b) the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and (c) venture capital trusts in each year since 2012.

Mel Stride: HMRC regularly publishes statistics on usage of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs). The statistics can be accessed at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/enterprise-investment-scheme-and-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-statistics www.gov.uk/government/collections/venture-capital-trusts-statistics These statistics provide information on the number of investors per year in SEIS, EIS and VCTs, up to 2014-15. They provide information on the amount of investment through the schemes, up to 2015-16. They also provide information on the number of companies receiving investment through SEIS and EIS, up to 2015-16. Information is not available on the number of companies receiving investment from VCTs.

Small Businesses: Loans

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the level of funding for small and medium-sized enterprises provided through (a) equity investments, (b) peer-to-peer loans and (c) other forms of lending for each of the last five financial years.

Stephen Barclay: The information requested is available from the British Business Bank at http://british-business-bank.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/BBB-SBFM-REPORT-2016-17-web.pdf

Small Businesses: Loans

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure  banks share customer data with new entrants to the finance market for small and medium-sized enterprises in good time.

Stephen Barclay: The Government legislated in The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, and The Small and Medium Sized Business (Credit Information) Regulations 2015 to oblige designated banks to share data on small and medium-sized enterprises with finance providers through designated Credit Reference Agencies.

Personal Income

Justin Madders: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual growth in household income was in each of the last eight quarters for which figures are available.

Stephen Barclay: The Government is taking action to support household incomes. This includes increasing the National Living Wage, raising the personal allowance and freezing fuel duty. Real household disposable income per person grew at its fastest rate in 14 years in 2015 at 3.1%, before rising by 1.0% in 2016, reaching its highest ever level.

Bank Services: Internet

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) 18 to 29, (b) 30 to 44, (c) 45 to 59, (d) 60 to 79 and (e) over 80 year olds  who use online banking in each parliamentary constituency.

Stephen Barclay: The Government has made no such estimate. However, the Office for National Statistics compiles data on the activities carried out by people that use the internet, including internet banking. This can be found at http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/householdcharacteristics/homeinternetandsocialmediausage/bulletins/internetaccesshouseholdsandindividuals/2016. The Government is committed to improving access to financial services, across both traditional and digital channels. The Government also recognises the need to support local communities to adapt to changes in the banking landscape, including when bank branches close. In March 2015, the Government helped to broker an industry-wide agreement to work with customers and communities to minimise the impact of bank branch closures and put in place alternative banking services. The Government welcomed Professor Russel Griggs’ 2016 review of the Access to Banking Protocol and is pleased to see the industry commit to further improvements to protect those affected by closures.

Insurance: High Rise Flats

Luke Pollard: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the insurance industry on insurance for residents of tower blocks.

Luke Pollard: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of whether residents of tower blocks are encountering difficulties in renewing their home insurance after the Grenfell Tower fire.

Stephen Barclay: The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA sets the conduct standards required of insurance firms which aim to ensure consumers are treated fairly. This includes ensuring fair access to insurance products for all consumers. The Chancellor has discussed the Grenfell tower disaster with leading industry representatives to get an understanding of how they may respond, and any possible impact on insurance for residents. The industry have said that it is too early to properly understand the implications, so have not yet made any changes to their underwriting models or pricing strategies. The Treasury has also been in contact with the relevant insurance companies reported to have refused home insurance for residents living in tower blocks. Both companies have assured officials that no individuals in the tower blocks have been refused access to home insurance as a result of the fire at Grenfell Tower, but we remain in regular contact with the insurance industry to understand how it may shape their view of fire risk. The Treasury will continue to monitor the situation and will investigate this matter further if it sees evidence of customers in tower blocks being treated unfairly.

VAT: Charities

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether air ambulance charities are required to pay VAT on their purchases.

Andrew Jones: Air ambulance charities, like most organisations and individuals, are required to pay VAT on their taxable purchases. The VAT refund scheme allows air ambulance charities to receive refunds of VAT.

Public Expenditure

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take in allocating public spending priorities in budgets during the course of the current Parliament to reduce (a) geographical, (b) wealth and (c) generational inequalities.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government has shown it is committed to reducing geographical, wealth and generational inequality. It will continue to consider such issues when making public spending allocations. A key priority for this government is to make sure the economy works for the whole country, not just certain parts. In the latest year, the economy grew fastest in the North West, the number of people in work grew fastest in the South West and unemployment fell fastest in Scotland. Looking ahead, the Government is developing an industrial strategy to drive productivity, create jobs, and ensure sustainable economic growth across the country. Our increases to the National Minimum Wage rate will benefit younger people, as will our actions to help young people get on the housing ladder. Income inequality is now lower now than it was in 2010, and the share of total income tax paid by the top 1% is 27%.

Debts

Liz McInnes: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the levels of household debt in the (a) Borough of Rochdale and (b) UK in the last 12 months.

Stephen Barclay: The latest data shows median household financial debt in the North West is the second lowest of any English region. In the UK as a whole, household debt-to-income has increased marginally from 141% 12 months ago to 145% in Q1 2017. This remains significantly below the pre-crisis peak of 160% in Q1 2008. The independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) was set up by the government to assess and mitigate financial stability risks, including from household debt. The FPC has taken action to ensure against a significant rise in highly indebted households.

Excise Duties: Beer

Gill Furniss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he estimated the cost of freezing beer duty for 2017-18 prior to the introduction of the Spring Budget 2017.

Andrew Jones: The Chancellor of the Exchequer keeps all taxes, including alcohol duties, under review and considers a wide range of tax policy options before each Budget.

Pay: Young People

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Social Mobility Commission report Time for Change, published on 28 June 2017, what steps he is taking to increase young people's wages.

Mel Stride: Improving social mobility is at the heart of the government’s ambition to make Britain a country that works for everyone. The government is investing in education and skills to ensure that every young person, whatever their background and wherever they live, has the opportunity to succeed and prosper. The government is delivering three million apprenticeship places, opening up access to higher education and investing £500 million a year into technical education. More young people than ever before are working or studying, and the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training is at a low of 11.2%, down 0.8 percentage points from a year ago.

Working Age Benefits: Wolverhampton

Emma Reynolds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) Wolverhampton and (b) Wolverhampton North East constituency qualified for (i) working tax credits and (ii) child tax credits in each financial year from 2009-10.

Elizabeth Truss: The number of families in receipt of child and working tax credit in (a) Wolverhampton and (b) Wolverhampton North East constituency is published by HMRC and is available on the GOV websitehttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-tax-credits-statistics. The results have been reproduced in the table below.   Families in receipt of tax credits from 2009-10 to 2015-16 (in 000’s) 2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16Working tax credit Wolverhampton2.52.82.82.72.62.52.5Wolverhampton North East constituency0.80.91.00.90.90.80.8Child tax credit Wolverhampton18.518.617.012.712.712.913.2Wolverhampton North East constituency6.87.26.54.84.84.84.9

Civil Servants: Welfare Tax Credits

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, (a) how many employees and (b) what proportion of the total workforce in each Government department are in receipt of tax credits.

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many public sector workers are claiming in-work benefits in the Glasgow South West constituency.

Mel Stride: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Catherine West: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on raising the higher rate threshold for tax to £50,000 by 2020.

Mel Stride: We have committed to raising the higher rate threshold to £50,000 and the path to meeting this commitment will be set out, funded and legislated for at future fiscal events. This April, the government took a significant step towards meeting this commitment; the higher rate threshold has increased from £43,000 to £45,000. A typical higher rate taxpayer will pay over £1,100 less income tax than in 2010-11, and 585,000 individuals will be taken out of the higher rate of tax in 2017-18 – a reduction of more than 10% This, alongside changes to the personal allowance, has benefitted over 31 million individuals since the start of the last parliament.

Tax Allowances

Catherine West: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on raising the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020.

Mel Stride: We have committed to raising the personal allowance to £12,500 and the path to meeting this commitment will be set out, funded and legislated for at future fiscal events. This April, the government took a significant step towards meeting this commitment; the personal allowance has increased from £11,000 to £11,500. 1.3 million people on the lowest incomes were taken out of income tax altogether, and a typical basic rate taxpayer will pay over £1,000 less income tax than in 2010-11. This, alongside changes to the higher rate threshold, has benefitted over 31 million individuals since the start of the last parliament.

Credit

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has discussed with the Governor of the Bank of England the recent rise in consumer credit; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: The Chancellor has regular discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on the economy and matters relating to financial stability. The independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC), which includes the Governor and a non-voting member from HM Treasury, was set up by the government to assess and mitigate financial stability risks. The FPC recently published the Financial Stability Report (FSR) which included an assessment of recent trends in the consumer credit market. The FSR noted that consumer credit has been growing rapidly but that loss rates on consumer credit lending are low at present.

Credit

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent rise in consumer credit on household debt.

Stephen Barclay: Consumer credit growth remains below its pre-crisis average (from 1997-2007), and household debt-to-income stands at 145% in Q1 2017, significantly below the pre-crisis peak of 160% in Q1 2008. The government has made significant changes to strengthen regulation of the UK’s consumer credit market. In addition, the independent Financial Policy Committee was set up by the government to assess and mitigate financial stability risks, and has taken action to ensure against a significant rise in highly indebted households.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for universal credit have been closed as a result of an absence of agreement on claimant commitments.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward proposals to change the child maintenance calculations from gross to net income to assess the necessary parental contributions required under the new Child Maintenance Service; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The Child Maintenance Service calculates maintenance liabilities as a percentage of gross weekly income. Using gross annual income data directly from HMRC enables maintenance calculations to be made more quickly and ensures that the income information is as accurate and up to date as possible. My Department has no plans to change the way that statutory maintenance liabilities are calculated.

Universal Credit

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what rationale the Government has used to decide the order of local authority areas for the Universal Credit Transition Schedule.

Damian Hinds: The Universal Credit Transition Schedule is designed to ensure a safe and secure delivery which minimises disruption for claimants. In order to facilitate this, the order of jobcentre sites in the schedule aims to create a fair and even distribution across the country. We collaborate closely with Local Authorities and stakeholders throughout the development of the schedule and through the rollout of Universal Credit.

Social Security Benefits

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2017 to Question 1470, if he will publish the response to the Freedom of Information request referred to in that Answer.

Penny Mordaunt: I am depositing a copy of the Freedom of Information reply in the House library. I will also publish it as soon as possible on GOV.UK, here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=&publication_filter_option=foi-releases&topics%5B%5D=all&departments%5B%5D=all&official_document_status=all&world_locations%5B%5D=all&from_date=&to_date=&commit=Refresh+results “

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many customers have used free wi-fi in (a) Govan Jobcentre Plus and (b) Pollock Jobcentre Plus in the last 12 months.

Damian Hinds: There is not a Pollock Jobcentre Plus, the only Jobcentre in the Glasgow South West constituency being Govan Jobcentre Plus. We do not have any data on the specific numbers of customers accessing our free Wi-Fi in Govan or any other of our Jobcentres. We can track the number of Wi-Fi connections per month. For example in May 2017 (the last period we have data for) there were 1701 unique Wi-Fi connections in Govan Jobcentre. However, any member of the public can access our public Wi-Fi (from inside the office or immediately outside). As a result, we are unable to state with accuracy the number of customers using Wi-Fi in any of our Jobcentres.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions the Government has had with colleges and third sector organisations in Glasgow South West constituency to extend the availability of public access terminals.

Damian Hinds: Govan JC has a Local Authority Delivery Partnership in place for Public Access Terminals. This includes Glasgow Life where Glasgow City Council Libraries (Ibrox and Cardonald) deliver the Goals for Work IT course (two hours a week for five weeks to enable customers to gain basic IT skills on Public access Terminals). During the five weeks Skills Development Scotland support customers by delivering a CV session. Customers also have access to Public Access Terminals at other local Glasgow City Council libraries such as Elderpark and Govan. Skills Development Scotland work closely with Govan Jobcentre, attending the Jobcentre for three days a week and use Jobcentre facilities (Digital Suite) to deliver Digital Group Information Sessions to customers. Scottish Action for Refugees have opened premises in Shaw Street, Govan, and provide a drop in facility for non-English speaking Refugees, including customer access to their IT facilities. Jobcentre Plus colleagues have regular conversations with the Community Education Officer at Clyde College around how we work together to provide additional support and access.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the locations are of the 16 public access terminals available for claimants in Glasgow South West constituency.

Damian Hinds: There are currently 16 customer computers in Govan Jobcentre, located over two floors (ground floor has 9 computers and first floor has 7).

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many customers have been provided with an assisted service for additional support to use the 16 customer access terminals in Glasgow South West constituency in the last 12 months.

Damian Hinds: Every customer who enters Govan Jobcentre is offered and can receive a personalised assisted service to use the customer access terminals regardless of the reason why they have come to the Jobcentre. Support is given in a number of ways, dependant on the needs of the customer and tailored to their needs. For example, this can be one-to-one support from the customer’s named Work Coach or from the Service Delivery Coach, who will assist them with all forms of job searching, job application completion and creating and improving their CVs. This can also include 1-2-1 customer coaching at the Jobcentre’s customer computers. This supports customers gaining basic digital skills or improving their existing digital capability, enabling them to widen their job search and tailor their CVs to a wider range of vacancies. Support at the customer computers can also be in the form of group sessions, where our Service Delivery Coaches coach customers to create an e-mail account, set up a Universal Job match account, produce a quality CV or register with a variety of recruitment websites. Our Service Delivery Coaches use a “Show and Tell” approach to building the digital skills customers require, where the customer is coached with the aim of them becoming confident in their digital skills and self-sufficient in their use of digital to complete job searches. Customers with little or no IT skills are encouraged to attend the Jobcentre on a regular basis to practice and consolidate their learning using the customer computers. Customers can apply for vacancies with full support provided by their Jobcentre Work Coaches and Service Delivery Coaches. Customers who do not have access at home to a computer or other suitable device are also actively encouraged to attend the Jobcentre daily to carry out their Job search activities.

Employment: Disability

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to progress the proposals set out in the Green Paper entitled Work, health and disability green paper: Improving Lives.

Penny Mordaunt: The Government is committed to improving employment and health outcomes for disabled people including delivering on the manifesto commitment to get 1 million more disabled people into work over the next 10 years. We received a very large response to the consultation on the Green Paper, with over 6000 responses. We are considering these and will set out our next steps on this important agenda in due course.

Social Security Benefits: Mental Health

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to improve the understanding of mental health among personal independence payment and employment and support allowance assessors.

Penny Mordaunt: Health Professionals (HPs) receive training on how to identify the impact of mental health conditions on claimants. This is followed by on-going professional training and support which continues for the duration of their employment in the role. In addition, Mental Health Champions support HPs by providing additional expertise about mental health, cognitive, developmental and learning disabilities and can be referred to at any time during the assessment process. HPs make every attempt to obtain the best evidence available to assist them in undertaking the assessment. This includes accessing evidence from Community Mental Health Teams, psychologists, psychiatrists and other medical professionals. Health Assessment Providers frequently engage with medical experts, charities and relevant stakeholders to strengthen review and update training programmes for all their assessment staff.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of applications for employment and support allowance which are rejected are overturned at the appeals stage.

Penny Mordaunt: The available information on overturned Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) appeals can be found in the ESA Outcomes of Work Capability Assessments quarterly statistics published here - see Table 3 (Latest Release) : https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment

Department for Work and Pensions: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many protected disclosures were made by staff in his Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many of those disclosures were found to be valid; how many staff alleged detriment as a result of those disclosures; and how many staff subsequently left his Department's employment.

Caroline Dinenage: For the purposes of this response, we have interpreted ‘protected disclosures’ as a referral received via the DWP Whistle-blowers Hotline that has been classified under the definitions in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA). We have interpreted ‘staff alleged detriment’ as staff members reporting a grievance.  2015/162016/172017/18*Protected disclosures received (Whistle-blower referrals)41279Protected disclosures found to be valid1121 (8 cases ongoing)Staff alleging detriment as a result of these disclosures000Staff leaving the Department as a result of detriment following raising a disclosure000 *2017/18 data covers the period 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2017.

Social Security Benefits: Glasgow South West

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants in Glasgow South West constituency were refused benefits due to the lack of access to an online resource to complete their claim in the last 12 months.

Damian Hinds: Claimants are not refused benefits due to lack of access to an online resource with which to complete their claim. DWP offers free access to online resources within all Jobcentres. Where a customer does not have access to an online resource at home, we encourage use of our public access terminals, and also suggest other available free online resources to customers in local libraries or local partner organisations.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants have been sanctioned in Glasgow South West constituency; and for what reasons in each month since May 2015.

Damian Hinds: The available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support and Universal Credit sanction decisions, by parliamentary constituency, is published and can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Employment and Support Allowance

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will undertake a review of the effect of the abolition of the employment and support allowance work-related activity component on claimant poverty.

Penny Mordaunt: There will be no cash losers among those who are already in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and we have laid regulations to protect existing ESA claimants, including those who temporarily leave the benefit to try out work and then return to ESA. The Government published its assessment of the impacts of the change to the work-related activity component on 20 July 2015. http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006B.pdf

Employment and Support Allowance

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants in the Employment and Support Allowance work-related activity group have dependants under the age of two.

Penny Mordaunt: On 31 May 2015, the latest point at which this information is available, there were 10,600 Employment and Support Allowance claimants in the Work Related Activity Group, who were a parent or guardian to a child under the age of 2 years.

Employment and Support Allowance

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants in the employment and support allowance work-related activity group are also affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy.

Caroline Dinenage: At end-November 2016 there were 52,000 claimants in Great Britain in the employment and support allowance work-related activity group who had a deduction from their housing benefit due to the removal of the spare room subsidy. Discretionary Housing Payments are available to support vulnerable claimants requiring additional assistance with their housing costs.

Social Security Benefits

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether payments from the Grenfell Tower residents' discretionary fund are taken into account in calculating benefit entitlement.

Damian Hinds: Payments from the Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund do not affect entitlement to any social security benefit.

Employment and Support Allowance: Motor Neurone Disease

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will add motor neurone disease to the list of conditions that exempt a claimant of employment and support allowance from re-testing.

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether claimants of employment and support allowance with motor neurone disease will continue to be subject to health reassessments.

Penny Mordaunt: There is no condition based entitlement to Employment Support Allowance. We are working with medical professionals and other stakeholders to develop functional criteria that will help us identify those with the most severe health conditions or disabilities, for whom repeat work capability assessments can be stopped. Rather than a list of specific medical conditions, the criteria will be based on identifying claimants with the most severe health conditions or disabilities where it would be unreasonable to expect the individual to undertake any form or amount of work or work-related activity. This change will only apply to those placed in the Support Group and UC equivalent.

Universal Credit: Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people are in receipt of universal credit in each region of England.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of disabled people who will be in receipt of universal credit in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020 and (d) 2021.

Penny Mordaunt: The requested information is not available.

Home Office

Fire and Rescue Services: Greater London

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fire pumps were available in (a) London, (b) the London Borough of Southwark and (c) the London Borough of Lambeth in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The latest published information on numbers of fire pumps can be found in Table 1403 of the “Fire and rescue authorities: operational statistics bulletin for England 2015 to 2016” available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables.

Counter-terrorism

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions her Department has used the EU Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme since its creation.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP) allows UK law enforcement access, in specific circumstances, to information on international financial transactions on the SWIFT messaging network. The Joint Report from the EU Commission and US Treasury Department highlighted the valuable role data from TFTP had played in supporting counter-terrorism investigations. Due to reasons of national security it is not in the public interest to disclose the specific details of the UK’s use of the TFTP.Joint Report from the European Union Commission and the U.S. Treasury Department regarding the value of TFTP Provided Data – 27 November 2013

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether residency in Crown Dependencies will count towards the five years required to gain settled status.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU published on 26 June 2017, how much applying for settled status will cost EU nationals; and what support will be provided by the Government.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, where and when EU nationals living in the UK will be required to show a residence document.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU published on 26 June 2017, whether work carried out abroad on behalf of UK universities or funded by UK research councils will be included in the five years continuous residence requirement EU nationals will have to fulfil to gain settled status after the UK has left the EU.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what support and fee status will be given to EU nationals who arrive in the UK after the specified date.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU published on 26 June 2017, whether work carried out abroad on behalf of UK firms will be included in the five years' continuous residence requirement EU nationals will have to fulfil to gain settled status after the UK has left the EU.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU published on 26 June 2017, when the Government plans to publish the specified date before which EU nationals must have been resident in the UK in order to qualify for settled status.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether work carried out abroad on behalf of UK firms will be included within the five years' continuous residence requirement for EU nationals to gain settled status after the UK leaves the EU.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU published on 26 June 2017, when the Government plans to provide notification on how long qualifying EU citizens will be given to apply for new residence status.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether EU nationals seeking work in the UK and those who lose their employment in the UK will retain the same rights are those in work or self-employment.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, under what circumstances EU citizens who arrive after the specified date will be eligible to settle permanently in the UK.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU published on 26 June 2017, what eligibility criteria will be required for EU nationals seeking settled status beyond five years of continued residency in the UK; and when those requirements will need to be met.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what international travel and work restrictions will be placed on EU citizens while they accumulate five years' residency in order to apply for settled status.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether work carried out abroad on behalf of the devolved assemblies, local government or government agencies will be included in the five years' continuous residence requirement for EU nationals to gain settled status after the UK leaves the EU.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what appeals process her Department plans to put in place for EU nationals who are unsuccessful in obtaining new residence status.

Brandon Lewis: The Government’s policy paper (Cm 9464), which was laid before Parliament on 26 June, sets out our proposals that EU citizens who arrive in the UK before the specified date and have five years’ continuous residence in the UK will be able to apply for UK settled status. We will publish further detail on the specifics of the new application process for settled status, including detailed eligibility criteria, in due course. Regarding eligibility of time spent in the Crown Dependencies, this will also be specified in due course, but there is precedent in the Immigration Rules for counting time spent in the Crown Dependencies towards UK settlement when leave in the Crown Dependencies has been granted on a broadly equivalent basis as leave in the UK.The specified “cut-off” date before which EU citizens must have been resident in the UK in order to qualify for settled status is a matter for negotiations with our European partners as part of delivering a reciprocal agreement. We are clear that the parameters are not earlier than the date we triggered Article 50 (29 March 2017), and no later than the date we leave the EU.We will be establishing a new application process for EU citizens looking to secure settled status in the UK. Fees and charges are being considered as part of the negotiations. Our aim is to offer a streamlined and high quality service for everyone, keeping any fees at a reasonable level.All EU citizens and their families who are resident in the UK before exit, regardless of when they arrived, will, on the UK’s exit, have a grace period, which will be specified, but which we expect to be up to two years. During this period, they which they need to obtain an immigration status in UK law in order to be able to remain lawfully in the UK. In due course, EU nationals may be required to produce a residence document for specified purposes, as evidence of their entitlement to work, access benefits and services.

Visas: Applications

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for settlement visas have been (a) rejected, (b) processed and (c) paused since 22 February 2017.

Brandon Lewis: Information on family settlement visas is published quarterly in the Immigration Statistics which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2017/list-of-tables#visas. A temporary hold on decision-making in respect of some settlement visa applications was introduced on 22 February 2017 so that the implications of the Supreme Court judgment handed down that day in MM (Lebanon) & Others could be considered. The temporary hold will be lifted once the judgment’s findings have been addressed.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU published on 26 June 2017, what unilateral action the Government plans to take to provide EU nationals living in the UK with residency rights on failing to secure a reciprocal agreement on citizens' rights with the EU.

Brandon Lewis: It is the first responsibility of a Government to protect its own nationals, including those living overseas. Therefore in the current negotiations with the EU on citizens’ rights the Government is seeking to ensure reciprocity. The Government will work with the EU to reach a deal which is fair and right. In view of the unanimous support across Europe for guaranteeing citizens’ rights we are positive about a deal being reached.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's publication The United Kingdom's Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether EU nationals who refuse to provide biometric information will be eligible to apply for settled status in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper The United Kingdom's Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the position of EU Citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether non-family members with dependent British adults or children retain the right to reside in the UK following the country's exit from the EU.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's publication The United Kingdom's Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what estimate she has made of the costs of implementing the proposed immigration system for EU nationals after the UK has left the EU.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's publication The United Kingdom's Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, how many civil servants will be needed to administer the immigration system proposed for EU nationals after the UK has left the EU.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's publication The United Kingdom's Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, in which languages EU nationals seeking settled status in the UK will be able to submit an application.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's publication The United Kingdom's Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what the effect is on an EU national's settled status of working for a UK employer outside the UK for more than two years.

Brandon Lewis: The Government’s policy paper (Cm 9464), which was laid before Parliament on 26 June, sets out our proposals that European Union (EU) citizens who arrive in the UK before the specified date and have five years’ continuous residence in the UK will be able to apply for UK settled status. Work is underway to assess the proposed resources and costs required to implement the new settled status scheme. The details of the settled status scheme will be subject to negotiations and a reciprocal deal with the EU. We will publish further detail on the specifics of the new application process for settled status, including detailed eligibility criteria, in due course.

Crime: Rural Areas

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to encourage cross-police force collaboration to tackle rural crime.

Mr Nick Hurd: Collaboration is a key tool in helping the police become more responsive, more efficient and more effective at tackling crime. Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables now have a statutory duty to consider and review collaboration agreements with other forces. The Government, through the police transformation fund, has also invested in collaborative projects as well as funding to champion a better understanding of crime in rural areas.The election of Police and Crime Commissioners has given communities, including those in rural areas, a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them.

Europol

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the potential loss of access to Europol's Terrorism Situation and Trend Report system on the UK's ability to tackle terrorism.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential loss of access to Europol's information system on the UK's ability to tackle crime.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the potential loss of access to Europol on the UK's ability to work across borders with the US.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the potential loss of Europol assistance in tackling missing trader intra-community fraud on the UK's ability to tackle value added tax fraud.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the potential loss of access to Europol's Early Warning System on the UK's ability to tackle new psychoactive substances.

Brandon Lewis: We recognise the challenges in negotiating a new relationship, but it is in the clear interest of both the UK and European partners that we find a way to continue to cooperate in this space. We remain committed to the safety of citizens across Europe, but it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions on specific measures in advance of negotiations.

Europol

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times the UK has accessed Europol's counter-terrorism and emergency response teams in each year since their creation.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The UK has never accessed EUROPOL's counter-terrorism and emergency response teams since their creation.

Europol

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much information the UK has shared with Europol's information system on foreign terrorist fighters in each year since 2010.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much information has been exchanged by the UK to other EU member states via Europol's Secure Information Exchange Network Application service in each year since 2010.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The UK has been a strong driver in improving data sharing across EU systems to ensure that law enforcement authorities across the EU are able to develop the best possible analysis and intelligence picture.Intelligence exchange between UK law enforcement and Europol is well-established and takes place on a daily and routine basis on a wide range of criminal activity. The National Crime Agency (NCA) also support Europol with seconded staff. This cooperation continues to assist UK efforts to tackle cross-border crime impacting on the UK.We cannot comment specifically on sharing data with Europol systems as we do not comment on intelligence-sharing arrangements with international law enforcement organisations. However, the UK is a leading contributor to Europol databases and a leading user of the Secure Information Exchange Network Application service (SIENA).Further information on SIENA and the Europol Information System can be found at: https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/services-support/information-exchange

Europol

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) financial, (b) intelligence, (c) personnel and (d) other assistance Europol's European Migrant Smuggling Centre has given to the UK in each year since February 2016.

Brandon Lewis: Cooperation between UK law enforcement and Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre on organised immigration crime is well-established and routine. This cooperation has and continues to assist UK efforts to tackle organised immigration crime impacting on the UK through enhanced intelligence exchange.However, the specific data requested is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

European Arrest Warrants

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many European Arrest Warrant requests made by (a) the UK to each other EU state and (b) each other EU member state to the UK have been rejected as not valid in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Between 21 July 2014 and 31 March 2017 the National Crime Agency refused to certify 508 European Arrest Warrants on the grounds of disproportionality or dual criminality. The NCA does not hold figures prior to the 2014 reforms made to the European Arrest Warrant, which came into effect on 21 July 2014. The NCA does not hold equivalent figures for EU member states.

European Arrest Warrants

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has on replacement for the SIRENE Bureaux if the UK leaves the European Arrest Warrant agreement.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the potential loss of access to the European Arrest Warrant on the UK's ability to easily extradite those who have committed crimes.

Brandon Lewis: The UK continues to work closely with Member States to execute European Arrest Warrants. The Government will look to establish a new relationship with the European Union that includes practical arrangements on matters of law enforcement cooperation to tackle cross-border crime and to keep our people safe. The details of our new relationship will be subject to negotiations and it is too early to speculate at this stage what it may look like.

Drugs: Testing

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are in place in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) the rest of the UK to test for the presence of the new crystalised form of the drug Spice.

Sarah Newton: The Government expects police and forensic service providers to follow locally agreed processes for conducting forensic analysis for samples of synthetic cannabinoids or any other substances in order to prosecute under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Christian places of worship from each denomination in each region had applied for funding under the Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme, by 1 June 2017.

Sarah Newton: Since the scheme opened last year a total of 341 applications have been received. 286 of those were in the first year of the scheme, 228 of which were from the Christian places of worship. We received 55 applications in this year’s round of the scheme, 21 of which were from Christian places of worship.  Year One AreaBreakdown by DenominationTotal  BedfordshireChurch of England (1) Greek Orthodox (1) Methodist (1) Miscellaneous (2)FiveBirminghamChurch of England (3) Greek Orthodox (1) Methodist (1) Roman Catholic (3) Miscellaneous (4)TwelveCambridgeshireChurch of England (1) Miscellaneous (1)TwoCheshireChurch of England (1) Roman Catholic (1) Miscellaneous (1)ThreeCounty DurhamChurch of England (1)OneDerbyshireChurch of England (1)OneDevonChurch of England (1) Roman Catholic (2)ThreeDorsetRoman Catholic (2) Miscellaneous (2)FourEssexRoman Catholic (3) Miscellaneous (3)SixGloucestershireAnglican (1) Church of England (3) Roman Catholic (7) Miscellaneous (3)FourteenHampshireBaptist (1)OneHertfordshireGreek Orthodox (1) Church of England (2) Miscellaneous (1)FourKentChurch of England (3) Greek Orthodox (1) Miscellaneous (3)SevenLancashireBaptist (1) Church of England (1) Methodist (1) Roman Catholic (2) Miscellaneous (4)NineLeicestershireChurch of England (1) Miscellaneous (1)TwoLincolnshireChurch of England (2) Roman Catholic (2)FourLondonAnglican (2) Baptist (5) Church of England (18) Greek Orthodox (4) Methodist (3) Miscellaneous (22) Roman Catholic (4)Fifty-eightMerseysideChurch of England (2) Baptist (1) Methodist (1) Miscellaneous (2) Roman Catholic (2)EightNorfolkChurch of England (1) Roman Catholic (1)TwoNottinghamshireMiscellaneous (1)OneOxfordshireRoman Catholic (1) Miscellaneous (2)ThreeStaffordshireChurch of England (3) Methodist (1) Roman Catholic (1) Miscellaneous (1)SixSurreyAnglican (1) Church of England (2) Roman Catholic (2)FiveSussexChurch of England (2) Greek Orthodox (1) Roman Catholic (1)FourTyne and WearChurch of England (4) Methodist (1) Miscellaneous (1)SixWalesChurch of England (3) Church in Wales (6) Roman Catholic (3) Miscellaneous (1)ThirteenWest MidlandsAnglican (2) Church of England (6) Roman Catholic (2) Miscellaneous (6)SixteenWilshireBaptist (1) Roman Catholic (4)FiveWorcestershireRoman Catholic (1)OneYorkshire and the HumberChurch of England (10) Methodist (1) Roman Catholic (4) Miscellaneous (7)Twenty-two  Year Two AreaBreakdown by DenominationTotal  BirminghamChurch of England (1)OneDevonRoman Catholic (1)OneGloucestershireChurch of England (2)TwoKentFree Church (1) Church of England (1)TwoLondonOrthodox (1) Roman Catholic (1) Evangelical (1) Church of England (2) Methodist (3)EightSurreyChurch of England (1)OneWalesRoman Catholic (1)OneWarwickshireChurch of England (1)OneWest MidlandsPentecostal (1)OneYorkshire and the HumberMethodist (1) Pentecostal (1) Roman Catholic (1)Three

Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Islamic places of worship from each denomination had applied in each region for funding under the Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme by 1 June 2017.

Sarah Newton: Since the scheme opened last year a total of 341 applications have been received. 286 of those were in the first year of the scheme, 36 of which were from the Islamic places of worship. We received 55 applications in this year’s round of the scheme, 26 of which were from Islamic places of worship. Further information on each Islamic Centre or Mosque is not available Year One Bedfordshire – ThreeBirmingham – ThreeCheshire – OneDorset – OneEssex – OneHertfordshire – OneKent – OneLancashire – FourLincolnshire – OneLondon - SevenStaffordshire – OneSurrey – OneTyne and Wear – TwoWest Midlands – OneYorkshire – Eight Year Two Bedfordshire – OneBirmingham – OneEssex – OneGloucestershire – ThreeLancashire – FiveLeicestershire– OneLondon – OneNottinghamshire – OneShropshire – OneWales – OneWest Midlands – OneYorkshire and Humberside – Nine

Tools: Theft

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on the availability of lock-picking equipment on the internet; and what assessment she has made of the effect of its availability on thefts from trades vehicles.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Secretary has received representations about the availability of lock-picking equipment on the internet. We are not aware of any firm evidence linking the use of such equipment specifically to commit thefts from trades vehicles. The Home Office continues to work with the police, industry and others and will consider the evidence on what more can be done to prevent criminals committing vehicle related crime.

Gloucestershire Constabulary

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Chief Superintendents, (b) Superintendents, (c) Chief Inspectors, (d) Inspectors, (e) Sergeants and (f) Constables there have been in Gloucestershire Constabulary in each year from  2010 to the latest year for which figures are available.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins. Detailed data on the number of officers by rank is collected and published on an annual basis only. The statistics for Gloucestershire, representing the picture as at 31 March 2016, can be found in Table_H4 accompanying the main release here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2016 Data for previous years can be found in the Open Data tables, available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/539270/open-data-table-police-workforce.ods The next release of ‘Police workforce’ statistics is due to be published on 20th July, and will represent the picture as at 31 March 2017.

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the planned budget is for special grants funding for 2017-18; and how much of that funding will be allocated to each police force.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether funding for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference will come from her Department's special grants budget.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications her Department received for special grants in 2016-17.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department allocated in special grant funding to each recipient body in each financial year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Police Special Grant is available to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) whose force is facing unexpected or unplanned events or expenditure which might otherwise cause financial instability. The majority of costs reimbursed relate to operational policing expenses such as overtime and mutual aid. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement at the time of the police settlement (15 December 2016), in 2017/18, the Government is providing £50m from the police settlement for Police Special Grant. This is an increase which reflects both an assessment of potential need across police forces, and the specific costs likely to be incurred preparing for the policing operation at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018. Special Grant will be distributed to those forces where the PCC makes an application for funding to the Home Office, which is subsequently considered and agreed by the Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service. The Home Office publishes the applications and decisions taken on Special Grant. This can be found at the link below. Data relating to 2016/17 will be published shortly. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-funding-special-grant-applications Applications for Special Grant from 2007 to 2014 can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-grants-paid-to-the-police-forces-in-england-and-wales-from-2007-to-2014

Fraud

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been reached by the (a) Take Five, (b) Cyber Aware, (c) Cyber Essentials, (d) Scam Smart, (e) Not With My Name, (f) Urban Fraud Myths, (g) Avoiding Scams, (h) Get Safe Online, (i) Cyber Choices, (j) The Pensions Regulator's Scorpion Campaign, (k) 10 Steps to Cyber Security, (l) Date Safe and (m) Fighting Fraud programmes during 2017-18.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Police Special Grant is available to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) whose force is facing unexpected or unplanned events or expenditure which might otherwise cause financial instability. The majority of costs reimbursed relate to operational policing expenses such as overtime and mutual aid. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement at the time of the police settlement (15 December 2016), in 2017/18, the Government is providing £50m from the police settlement for Police Special Grant. This is an increase which reflects both an assessment of potential need across police forces, and the specific costs likely to be incurred preparing for the policing operation at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018. Special Grant will be distributed to those forces where the PCC makes an application for funding to the Home Office, which is subsequently considered and agreed by the Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service. The Home Office publishes the applications and decisions taken on Special Grant. This can be found at the link below. Data relating to 2016/17 will be published shortly. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-funding-special-grant-applications Applications for Special Grant from 2007 to 2014 can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-grants-paid-to-the-police-forces-in-england-and-wales-from-2007-to-2014

Immigration Controls: USA

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on discussions with the US Administration on allowing the pre-clearance in the UK of passengers for immigration purposes.

Brandon Lewis: Discussions with the US Administration on their proposals for the pre-clearance in the UK of passengers travelling to the US for immigration purposes are ongoing. No decision has yet been made.

Home Office: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Sarah Newton: The government continues to encourage more people to go online, so they can access the guidance and services they need – as well as reducing the cost of public services. The department has continued to reduce its paper consumption. This has been achieved through a revised print strategy and a continuing programme of IT improvements, such as Access UK (a single online Immigration application service for UK-based and international customers) which are helping to decrease our reliance on paper. Details of the department’s performance in reducing its paper consumption were published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report – April 2015 to March 2016 on 20 April 2017.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-2015-to-2016-annual-report

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's publication entitled The United Kingdom's Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, when the length of the grace period referred to in paragraph 24 will be specified for EU nationals resident in the UK at the time the UK leaves the EU.

Brandon Lewis: The Government’s policy paper (Cm 9464), which was laid before Parliament on 26 June, sets out our proposals that European Union (EU) citizens who arrive in the UK before the specified date and have five years’ continuous residence in the UK will be able to apply for UK settled status. We will publish further detail on the specifics of the new application process for settled status, including specifying the length of the grace period, in due course.

Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures are in place to ensure human rights legislation is complied with in respect of detainees in Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre.

Brandon Lewis: The Human Rights Act 1998 requires that primary and subordinate legislation must be given effect in a way that is compatible with the Convention rights defined in Act. Detainees in the immigration detention estate, including those in Dungavel immigration removal centre (IRC), must be treated in accordance with the Detention Centre Rules 2001, the operating standards for IRCs and Detention Services Orders. Service providers for IRCs are contractually required to comply with all relevant UK legislation. IRCs are subject to statutory oversight by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons and by Independent Monitoring Boards who are both members of the National Preventative Mechanism comprising a group of independent bodies which monitor the treatment of and conditions for detainees. This contributes to the UK’s response to its international obligations under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).

Passports: Females

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the average time taken to process changes to passports for women holding dual nationality after those women have notified a name change after their marriage; and if she will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: No statistical information is available showing whether British citizens hold another citizenship. There is also no statistical information available to show the time taken to process applications for a change of name due to marriage.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the 2017-18 Counter Terrorism Policing and Protective Security Grant budget has been allocated to (a) regional units and (b) national units.

Mr Ben  Wallace: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the Hon Member for West Ham on the 27th June 2017, UIN 787.

Visas

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people applied for a visa through the fast track immigration service in the UK since 1 January 2017; and how many of those visa applications were granted on the same day that the application was made.

Brandon Lewis: Purdah has delayed publication of data for 2017. A link to the most recent available data and that for Q4 of 2016 is therefore provided. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data

Immigration: EU Nationals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether non-UK EU citizens living in the UK whose applications for settled status are refused will be required to leave the UK when the UK leaves the EU.

Brandon Lewis: The Government’s policy paper (Cm 9464), which was laid before Parliament on 26 June, sets out that obtaining settled status will be subject to meeting certain requirements. The eligibility criteria will be set out in UK law, and will include a requirement for the applicant to have been resident in the UK for a set length of time and an assessment of conduct and criminality, including not being considered a threat to the UK. We will continue to apply rules to exclude those who are serious or persistent criminals and those whom we consider a threat to the UK. Those who are refused settled status, unless they are covered by any of the exemptions that the Government puts in place or have another basis to remain in the UK, will no longer have permission to remain in the UK after we leave the EU.

Home Office: Public Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the (a) salary and (b) terms of employment of each of the Director-Generals in her Department.

Sarah Newton: The salaries of Home Office Director Generals will be published in accordance with the Government’s transparency policy. The salaries are reported in the Home Office Annual Accounts, the 2016/17 Home Office Annual Accounts will be published shortly. The previous Annual Report 2015/16 can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016 There are no current plans to publish the individual Director General terms and conditions. The Civil Service Management Code, which contains terms and conditions for all Civil Servants is published here. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-servants-terms-and-conditions

Home Office: Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were employed in (a) UKVI, (b) UKBA and (c) passport services as at 1 July 2017.

Brandon Lewis: UKBA ceased to exist in 2013 with the work transferred into two new Directorates (a) UKVI and Immigration Enforcement. Figures for these organisations are published quarterly on gov.uk

Police: ICT

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the annual operating cost of IT systems for each police force in England and Wales.

Mr Nick Hurd: Total ICT costs for each police force in England and Wales are available on GOV.UK within the Value for money profiles published by HMIChttp://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/our-work/value-for-money-inspections/value-for-money-profiles/.

Sexual Offences: Ethnic Groups

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle violent sex abuse against women from Asian and Pakistani groups in the UK.

Sarah Newton: The Government recognises that sexual violence affects women from all communities across the UK. These are devastating crimes, and we are committed to ensuring that every victim has access to the specialist support they need, and that everything is done to bring offenders to justice. We want every report of rape to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally. Our cross-Government violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy recognises that some sectors of society, such as Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, can experience additional barriers to accessing support. We have pledged increased funding of £100 million through to 2020 to support our commitment to tackling VAWG, including protecting funding to 85 Rape Support Centres and a new £17m VAWG Service Transformation Fund. This increased funding and our support for local areas to improve commissioning will help to ensure that the needs of BAME victims are met through specialist support.

Home Office: Grants

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how many applications her Department has received for special grants and (b) what amount has been given in such grants in each financial year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office publishes the applications and decisions taken on Special Grant. This can be found at the link below. Data relating to 2016/17 will be published shortly. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-funding-special-grant-applications Applications for Special Grant from 2007 to 2014 can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-grants-paid-to-the-police-forces-in-england-and-wales-from-2007-to-2014

Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons Review

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when Stephen Shaw will begin his follow-up review into the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons.

Brandon Lewis: The follow up to the review by Stephen Shaw CBE into the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons will start in autumn 2017.

Migration

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the reasons the Government is yet to achieve its target of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands.

Brandon Lewis: The UK will remain an open and tolerant country; one that recognises the valuable contribution migrants make to our society and welcomes those with the skills and expertise to make our nation better. We will control immigration so that our system serves the national interest. As we conduct the negotiations to leave the European Union, it must be a priority to regain more control of the numbers of people who come here from Europe. It will take time to achieve that because until we leave the European Union we will still be affected by free movement rules. The Government will not solely rely on the Brexit negotiation to deliver the net migration target. We are clear that employers must move away from an unsustainable reliance on migrant workers. We have closed Tier 1 routes which allowed non-EEA migrants to come to the UK to look for work. We have reformed the employer-led Tier 2 route following expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee. Through the introduction of the Immigration Skills Charge, we are encouraging employers to invest in training and up-skilling the resident workforce.

Human Trafficking

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police raids on care homes in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland resulted in potential victims of human trafficking being taken by the police to reception centres in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: The National Crime Agency holds the data collected on victims of modern slavery through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM is the process that identifies and supports victims of modern slavery. Modern slavery includes but is not limited to human trafficking, domestic servitude and labour exploitation.In 2016, UK police forces identified and referred 914 potential victims of modern slavery into the NRM. The NRM statistics published break down the referrals made by their local constabulary. Data on the context in which the police identify the potential victim of modern slavery is not published. The NRM statistics for 2012-2016 can be viewed on the National Crime Agency website: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics

Police National Computer

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she had made of the number of wanted suspects on the Police National Computer in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is not possible to obtain retrospective statistics from the Police National Computer, nor can PNC count how many different people have been recorded as Wanted on PNC at some point during a particular time period (e.g. a calendar year).

Police National Computer

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of each category of crime was committed by wanted suspects on the Police National Computer in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: This information is not available.

Police: Vacancies

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of vacancies for detectives of any rank in each police force.

Mr Nick Hurd: We do not hold information centrally on police vacancies. Decisions about the recruitment and retention of police officers and staff are the responsibility of chief constables and police and crime commissioners, supported by the College of Policing. In its Effectiveness report, published on 2 March 2017, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) called on the National Police Chiefs’ Council, working with the College of Policing, to review by June what is being done to tackle concerns over the number of police detectives. HMIC recommended that these bodies should put in place a national action plan by December 2017. HMIC’s recommendations are primarily for police leaders to take action and ensure progress is made. We continue to work with national policing leads to encourage better analysis of this issue and the development of sustainable solutions.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to waive the fee for those applications for settled status from non-UK EU citizens, as a result of the UK's decision to leave the EU.

Brandon Lewis: The Government’s policy paper (Cm 9464), which was laid before Parliament on 26 June, sets out our proposals that European Union (EU) citizens who arrive in the UK before the specified date and have five years’ continuous residence in the UK will be able to apply for UK settled status.Fees and charges are being considered as part of the negotiations. Our aim is to offer a streamlined and high quality service for everyone, keeping any fees at a reasonable level. Further details on the scheme will be provided in due course.

Home Office: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many protected disclosures were made by staff in her Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such disclosures were found to be valid; how many staff alleged detriment as a result of making such a disclosure; and how many staff who (a) made such a disclosure and (b) alleged detriment as a result of a disclosure subsequently left the employment of the Department.

Sarah Newton: The concept of protected disclosure is important to the Department. The Home Office reformed its approach to whistle blowing measures from November 2015. Full records became readily available in 2016. 35 referrals were made to a central reporting line in 2016. We do not hold data on how many of these were found to be valid. In addition, we do not hold a record of how many staff alleged detriment as a result of making a disclosure because most staff may elect to remain anonymous.

Migration

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Government is taking to bring net migration to the UK to fewer than 100,000 people a year.

Brandon Lewis: The UK will remain an open and tolerant country; one that recognises the valuable contribution migrants make to our society and welcomes those with the skills and expertise to make our nation better. We will control immigration so that our system serves the national interest. As we conduct the negotiations to leave the European Union, it must be a priority to regain more control of the numbers of people who come here from Europe. We are considering the options for our future immigration system very carefully. We will build a comprehensive picture of the needs and interests of all parts of the UK and look to develop a system which works for all. The Government will not solely rely on the Brexit negotiation to deliver the net migration target. We have introduced a wide range of measures in the Immigration Acts 2014 and 2016 to remove the ability of illegal immigrants to remain in the UK in defiance of our immigration laws. We have also clamped down on abuse of student migration – closing over 900 bogus colleges. We have closed Tier 1 routes which allowed non-EEA migrants to come to the UK to look for work, and reformed the employer-led Tier 2 route following expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee. Through the introduction of the Immigration Skills Charge, we are encouraging employers to invest in training and up-skilling the resident workforce.

Migration: Students

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her Departments policy to include student numbers in official migration statistics.

Brandon Lewis: International students are included in net migration statistics that are produced by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS). In line with the internationally agreed UN definition, these statistics define a migrant as someone changing their normal place of residence for more than a year. Students are therefore included in the same way as other migrants. Other countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia also include students in their net migration figures. Like other migrants, students who stay for longer than 12 months have an impact on communities, infrastructure and services while they are here, so it is right that they are included in the net migration count. There is no limit to the number of genuine international students who can come to study in the United Kingdom and there are no plans to change this.

Crimes of Violence: Acids

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 23 March 2017 to Question 68460, what progress has been made on (a) better understanding the extent and scale of crimes involving acid and (b) work with retailers to explore what action can be taken to control sales of products with a high acidic content.

Mr Nick Hurd: We are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the scale and nature of attacks with acid and other corrosive substances and how to respond to such attacks.The Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council jointly hosted a meeting on 4 July with medical experts, police, retailers, and officials from a number of Government departments and agencies to share understanding about the nature of attacks and discussed action being taken by the respective agencies. We are currently considering with retailers what action can be taken to restrict access to the most harmful products used in acid and other corrosive substance attacks.

Crimes of Violence: Acids

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 23 March 2017 to Question 68460, whether it is her assessment that legislative change will be required to better control sales of products with a high acidic content.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council jointly hosted a meeting on 4 July with medical experts, police, retailers, and officials from a number of Government departments and agencies to share understanding about the nature of attacks and discussed action being taken by the respective agencies. We are currently considering a range of measures which includes with retailers what action can be taken to restrict access to the most harmful products used in acid and other corrosive substance attacks.

Fraud

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of criminal fraud were reported to the National Fraud Reporting Centre, Action Fraud, in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many of those cases (a) have been or are being investigated and (b) have led to prosecution.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office collects quarterly data on the number of fraud offences reported to Action Fraud via the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). The most recently available data are for the year ending December 2016, and are available in Table QT1 of the Office for National Statistics’ ‘Crime in England and Wales: Quarterly Data Tables’ at this website:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesquarterlydatatables.Information on the number of fraud offences that are disseminated to the police by the NFIB for investigation is published on an annual basis. Information for the year ending March 2017 will be published on the 20 July in ‘Crime Outcomes in England and Wales, year ending March 2017’.The Home Office does not hold information on the number of fraud investigations which have led to prosecutions. The Ministry of Justice are responsible for prosecutions data.

Fraud: Prosecutions

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government's policy is on the prosecution of people who perpetrate criminal fraud; and what advice her Department has given to chief constables in England on the priority to be accorded to such crime.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The full force of the law should be used to pursue, and prosecute individuals who choose to commit fraud. Whilst it is down to Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to set local priorities for their force area, I recognise that driving up the law enforcement response to fraud at national, regional and local levels must be a priority. Through the Joint Fraud Taskforce, we are working with the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud, to establish a consistent and transparent approach to fraud across all police forces.

Fire and Rescue Services: Vehicles

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many firefighting-rescue platforms that can ascend to 90 metres in height are in service with fire services (a) in London and (b) elsewhere.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not collect information to this level of detail.The latest published information on numbers of firefighting rescue platforms can be found in Table 1403 of the “Fire and rescue authorities: operational statistics bulletin for England 2015 to 2016” available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables, but the category ‘Aerials (inc. pump/aerial combined)’ does not give a breakdown of the working height of the appliance.Data for 2017 will be published later in the year.

Knives: Sales

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the Primary Authority Scheme to knife sales.

Sarah Newton: In March 2016, we agreed a set of commitments with major retailers to prevent the underage sales of knives in their stores and online. One of the commitments made in the agreement on knife sales with major retailers was to consider primary authority being extended to include knives. We agree in principle with extending primary authority to knife sales but this requires secondary legislation and we will bring this forward in due course.

Arrests

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she gives to (a) police forces and (b) West Lancashire police on the necessity for manned telephone services for inquiries about people who have been arrested.

Mr Nick Hurd: PACE Code of Practice C provides that a person with an interest in a detainee’s welfare who enquires about the detainee’s whereabouts may be given this information if: a) the detainee agrees; andb) the rules that allow the information to be withheld do not apply. When a detainee exercises their right to free legal advice, the solicitor assigned by the Defence Solicitor Call Centre is expected to contact the police station by telephone and speak to the detainee. Within each individual police force, Chief Officers are responsible for implementing the necessary operational procedures to deal with these telephone enquiries.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost of creating a new (a) application process and (b) online system for EU citizens to obtain settled status in the UK.

Brandon Lewis: On 28 June the Government published its offer for EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU on their rights and status after the UK leaves the EU. The immigration system that will operate after the UK leaves the EU will be agreed by the process of negotiation that is now underway between the UK and our partners in the EU. Once the details of that system have been agreed, the Home Office will ensure that the necessary resources will be available to implement and operate the system effectively and efficiently, alongside all other aspects of the Government’s existing plans to transform the operation of the immigration system. The Government will provide further detail in due course.

Knives: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last met the Mayor of London to discuss knife crime in London.

Sarah Newton: Tackling knife crime remains a priority for the Government and our work is centred on four key strands working with the police on operations and enforcement, work on the legislative framework, work with retailers on responsible sales, and early intervention and prevention.The Home Office works closely with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime on a range of issues including knife crime. The Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Sarah Newton MP, met Sophie Linden, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in London on the 19 December to discuss knife crime and youth violence.The Home Office are encouraging police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. The operation includes targeting habitual knife carriers, weapon sweeps, test purchases of knives from identified retailers, and the use of surrender bins. The Home Office hosted an all force briefing event which I attended on Operation Sceptre on 14 June and the next week of action which will include the Metropolitan Police Service will take place in July.

London's Preparedness to Respond to a Major Terrorist Incident Independent Review

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to implement the recommendations of the Harris review of London's preparedness to respond to a major terrorist incident published in October 2016.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office welcomes the Lord Harris review which concluded that London’s levels of preparedness are better than they ever have been. We have worked closely with the Mayor’s office to outline the significant work we are undertaking to increase preparedness across the country. We are also looking again at our counter-terrorism strategy to ensure we are able to deal with the changing threat from terrorism.The emergency services’ response to the recent attacks was fast and effective. The number of armed response vehicles has more than doubled in London and the Home Office is currently uplifting the specialist MTFA Fire and Rescue Service capability across the country to enable the treatment of casualties in higher risk environments. As part of this, London is seeing an increase in Home Office funding to double the current capability.

Proof of Identity: EU Nationals

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the (a) total and (b) additional number of staff her Department will need to employ to process identification documentation for non-UK EU citizens after the UK leaves the EU.

Brandon Lewis: On 28 June the Government published its offer for EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU on their rights and status after the UK leaves the EU. The immigration system that will operate after the UK leaves the EU will be agreed by the process of negotiation that is now underway between the UK and our partners in the EU. Once the details of that system have been agreed, the Home Office will ensure that the necessary resources will be available to implement and operate the system effectively and efficiently, alongside all other aspects of the Government’s existing plans to transform the operation of the immigration system. The Government will provide further detail in due course.

Northern Ireland Office

Terrorism: Hyde Park

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what representations he has received on whether the Hyde Park justice campaign should receive Legal Aid.

James Brokenshire: I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to all the families who lost loved ones in this appalling terrorist crime, for which there could be never be any justification. I would also like to reiterate this Government’s admiration for members of the Armed Forces, who served in Northern Ireland to uphold democracy and the rule of law. I have received a number of representations about the Hyde Park bombing in 1982, and have been copied into correspondence from the families’ legal representatives to the Prime Minister. I am aware that in May 2016 my predecessor met members of the families and their legal representatives. Decisions on the granting of Legal Aid are made independently of Ministers by the Legal Aid Agency. I fully understand, however, the families’ desire to see justice in this case.

Political Parties: Northern Ireland

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to bring transparency of political donations in Northern Ireland in line with that in the rest of the UK.

James Brokenshire: As I informed the House during my statement of 3 July 2017, and consistent with the commitment set out in the Government's Northern Ireland manifesto, I intend to bring forward legislation that will provide for the publication of all donations and loans received by Northern Ireland parties on or after 1 July 2017. This will bring Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK with regard to the publication of information relating to political donations and loans.

Belfast Agreement

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what legal advice his Department has taken on whether the agreement reached between the Government and the Democratic Unionist Party meets the requirement of impartiality contained in the Good Friday Agreement.

James Brokenshire: As our manifesto at the General Election made clear, the UK Government remains steadfast in our commitments set out in the Belfast Agreement and its successors. The agreement with the DUP reiterates that. This means that we will continue to govern in the interests of all parts of the community and to work in partnership with the Irish Government, in accordance with the well-established three stranded approach.

Political Parties: Northern Ireland

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether proposed measures on transparency for political donations in Northern Ireland will require political parties to provide backdated accounts for donations.

James Brokenshire: The Northern Ireland parties have been obliged to provide political donation reports to the Electoral Commission since 2007. The proposed measures I set out in my statement of 3 July 2017 would introduce full transparency and provide for the publication of all donations and loans received by Northern Ireland parties on or after 1 July 2017.

Political Parties: Northern Ireland

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to implement measures on transparency of political donations in Northern Ireland.

James Brokenshire: As I informed the House during my statement of 3 July 2017, and consistent with the commitment set out in the Government's Northern Ireland manifesto, I intend to bring forward legislation that will provide for the publication of all donations and loans received by Northern Ireland parties on or after 1 July 2017. This will bring Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK with regard to the publication of information relating to political donations and loans.

Northern Ireland Assembly

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much has been spent on the (a) salaries and (b) allowances of (i) members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and (ii) their staff since January 2017; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The payment of salaries and allowances to Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly is a devolved matter and the Northern Ireland Office does not hold this information.

Northern Ireland Assembly

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reasons the full salaries and allowances of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are being paid in the absence of a functioning Assembly; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: As set out in the Northern Ireland Act 1998, salaries and allowances for Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are devolved matters.

Political Parties: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he had with the Electoral Commission before his statement to the House on 3 July 2017 on the publication of details of political donations made to parties in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: In January, I wrote to the political parties to seek their views on this issue and I also wrote to the Electoral Commission. The Commission’s response is available alongside those of other respondents at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/brokenshire-provides-further-details-of-political-donations-policy-to-mps.My officials have continued to work closely with the Electoral Commission on the preparation of the secondary legislation which will provide for the publication of all donations and loans received by Northern Ireland parties on or after 1 July 2017.

Northern Ireland Assembly

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that Northern Ireland Departments have sufficient funds available for its policies and programmes during the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

James Brokenshire: There is provision in place for the Permanent Secretary of the Northern Ireland Department of Finance to allocate cash, under s59 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, to maintain public services. That system remains in place as it has done since April. In April, I set out in a Written Ministerial Statement an indicative Budget position, based on advice from the Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) in conjunction with the NICS Board. This sought to give clarity to NI Departments as to the basis for departmental allocations in the absence of an Executive. I continue to monitor the financial situation, and will reflect on whether any further clarity is required for Northern Ireland Permanent Secretaries in the allocation of resources.

Political Parties: Northern Ireland

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will ensure that the legislation to allow for the publication of all donations and loans received by Northern Ireland parties on or after 1 July 2017 will also include provisions to allow the Electoral Commission to retrospectively publish details of donations and loans received by Northern Ireland parties since January 2014.

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the political parties in January seeking their views on this issue and, while there was broad support for the future publication of donations and loans, only one party expressed support for backdating publication to 1 January 2014. Having considered the representations of the parties, I did not believe it right to impose retrospective regulations on those who donated in accordance with the rules set out in law at the time. The secondary legislation to give effect to full transparency which I propose would therefore apply to donations and loans received on or after 1 July 2017.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Public Sector: Charities

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how often the public services programme implementation group, announced on 13 December 2016 has met; and what progress has been made in developing a Public Service Incubator.

Tracey Crouch: In February 2017, the Civil Society Implementation Group, chaired by Sir Martyn Lewis, was formed. It was tasked with creating delivery proposals for policies related to public services and civil society, including the Incubator. The group has met on 15 separate occasions and Government is considering its proposals.

Democratic Unionist Party: Digital Charter

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has received any representations from hon. Members from the Democratic Unionist Party on the Digital Charter.

Matt Hancock: No.

Data Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to increase citizens' ownership and control of personal data.

Matt Hancock: The Government announced its intention to bring forward a Data Protection Bill in the Queen's Speech on 21st June. Amongst other legislative changes, the Bill will introduce measures which will strengthen rights and empower individuals to have more control over their personal data including a right to be forgotten when individuals no longer want their data to be processed, provided that there are no legitimate grounds for retaining it.

Data Protection: Politics and Government

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when (a) media and (b) other companies are using consumer data to target content to their customers, what regulations govern the targeting of political content.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what regulations govern how personal data is used by (a) political parties and (b) other organisations for (i) campaigning and (ii) analysis.

Matt Hancock: Consumers' rights with regard to the collection, processing and disclosure of their personal data are governed by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Organisations that process personal data and use it to make marketing communications are regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). Both of these are enforced by the Information Commissioner independently of Government.

Tourists: Medical Treatments Abroad

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on the potential effect on outbound tourism of different options for the future of European Health Insurance Cards.

John Glen: We have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and other Cabinet colleagues about the implications of EU exit on the tourism sector. The policy paper published on 26 June set out that the Government will seek to protect the right of UK nationals and EU citizens to obtain and benefit from the European Health Insurance Card scheme. During the negotiations the government will consider the potential impacts on consumers (both outbound and inbound tourists), including access to healthcare while travelling within Europe.

Musicians: EU Countries

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Musicians Union about the ability of British musicians to work and tour in EU member states after the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: We have held a series of roundtables with the sector on the impacts and opportunities affecting the creative industries as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU, including representations from the music industry regarding touring musicians and crews. The Department remains committed to working closely with the music sector to ensure that its needs and views are understood.

Data Protection: EU Law

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an estimate of how long it will take for the UK to agree an adequacy agreement to share data with EU countries once the UK leaves the EU; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: We are committed to ensuring, by the best means possible, that a system of uninterrupted data flows between EU Member States and the UK can continue after we leave the EU.

Department of Health

Community Hospitals: Minor Injuries Units

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to put in place measures to prevent the closure of minor injury units in community hospitals.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many community hospitals closed in each local authority in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: No central list is held. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. It is right that these decisions are led by local clinicians, who best understand the healthcare needs of their local populations. All significant service change is subject to a full public consultation and proposals must have support from clinical commissioners, clarity on the clinical evidence base, robust patient and public engagement and support for patient choice.

Teachers: Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister's press release of 27 January 2017, PM: mental health training for teachers will make a real difference to children's lives, how many days of mental health training will be provided to each teacher.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister's press release of 27 January 2017, PM: mental health training for teachers will make a real difference to children's lives, how much it will cost to train each teacher that undergoes the mental health training programme provided by Mental Health First Aid England.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister's press release of 27 January 2017, PM: mental health training for teachers will make a real difference to children's lives, (a) how many teachers have been trained by Mental Health First Aid England and (b) how much of the £200,000 allocated by the Government for that training has been spent.

Steve Brine: The Government is committed to offering Mental Health First Aid training to a teacher in every secondary school by 2019. The training programme has been developed to be delivered as a one day training session.The Department is working closely with Mental Health First Aid England to monitor the implementation of the training. The Department does not hold the rest of the information in the format requested.

Health Professions: Staff

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on patient care of reductions in the number of NHS nurses and midwives since 2008.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the National Health Service. Earliest data is available for September 2009. There has been no reduction in the number of nurses and midwives in the English NHS since September 2009. As at March 2017, latest available data, there were over 7,400 full time equivalent more nurses and health visitors and over 2,600 more midwives working in the NHS compared to September 2009.

Health Professions: Staff

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from representatives of nurses and midwives on staffing levels in the NHS.

Mr Philip Dunne: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with professional bodies where a wide range of issues are discussed.

General Practitioners

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure all patients have a named GP.

Steve Brine: Since 1 April 2015, all general practitioner (GP) practices have been required, under the terms of their contract, to allocate a named, accountable GP to all patients, including children.

NHS: Pay

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on patient care of the cap on staff pay in the NHS.

Mr Philip Dunne: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear, the support and welfare of National Health Service staff is a top priority as they do a fantastic job - the Government is committed to ensuring they can continue to deliver world-class patient care. Pay restraint has helped the NHS to recruit an additional 33,800 (6.4%) professionally qualified clinical staff since May 2010.

Breastfeeding

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, where England was ranked compared to other European countries for breastfeeding in each year since 2010.

Steve Brine: Official statistics for England about breastfeeding and other infant feeding practices are captured in the Public Health Outcomes Framework and Maternity Services Dataset (MSDS); however these datasets are not designed to be used for international comparison.Prior to this, data on breastfeeding in the United Kingdom was recorded by the Infant Feeding Survey (IFS) every five years from 1975 to 2010. You can access the 2010 Infant Feeding Survey Consolidated Report and Summary here:http://content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB08694

Mental Health Services: Recruitment

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the GP Forward Review published in April 2016, how many of the 3,000 new mental health therapists referenced in that review have been appointed.

Steve Brine: This information is not available in the format requested.

Autism

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Independent Mental Health Taskforce report entitled Five Year Forward View on Mental Health published in February 2016, what the timetable is for the establishment of a care pathway for autism.

Jackie Doyle-Price: An indicative timeline for the development of care pathways was set out in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. The precise timetable for the establishment of a care pathway for autism will be confirmed by NHS England in due course.

Hospitals: Social Workers

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospital social workers have been employed by the NHS in each year since 2010.

Steve Brine: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and the following table shows how many qualified Social Services staff are employed in the National Health Service in England at 30 September 2010 to 2016. Data for March 2017 is also provided as this is the latest available. NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Qualified staff working within the area of Social Services in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England as at 30 September each specified year and latest data as at 31 March 2017. Qualified staff working in Social ServicesQualified staff working within the area of Social Services (full-time equivalent)  20101,58020111,50020121,54620131,54120141,76920151,88520162,18120172,349Source: NHS Digital, Provisional NHS HCHS monthly workforce statistics Note: It is not possible to identify staff working specifically in a hospital setting, nor those who are specifically registered social workers. The data provided are based on qualified staff working within the area of Social Services. Social Services staff included in this category have the following Occupation Codes; Consultant Therapist/Scientist, Manager, Therapist, Instructor/teacher and Tutor.

Nurses: Australasia

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) requirements for and (b) costs to nurses trained in Australia and New Zealand are who wish to register for work within the NHS.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information requested is not held by the Department. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom and is responsible for nurse registration. The NMC has informed us that before nurses who trained in countries outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) can be admitted to its register it needs to ensure they meet its registration standards. The NMC’s registration requirements are set out on its website at:www.nmc.org.ukFor applicants who trained outside of the EEA these include:- holding a suitable professional qualification;- having the necessary post-qualifying practise skills and experience for the part of the register for which they are applying;- being of good health and good character;- having the necessary knowledge of English. The NMC requires a minimum score of seven in all areas of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS);- having an appropriate indemnity arrangement in place at the point of practise; and- paying the relevant fee(s).With regard to the cost of registration, for nurses who trained in Australia and New Zealand, the NMC has provided the following information:- £153 application registration fee, paid to the NMC;- £140 evaluation fee, for assurance of application information, paid to the NMC;- A fee to sit the test of competence, paid to the test provider;- A fee to sit the IELTS language test, paid to the test provider; and- Fees relating to the UK immigration process.

Piperacillin-tazobactam

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the potential cost to the NHS of longer (a) treatment times and (b) hospital stays as a result of prescribing less powerful antibiotics as a result of the international shortage of the antibiotic piperacillin-tazobactam.

Steve Brine: No such estimate has been made. In response to the shortage of piperacillin-tazobactam, the Department has been working with national antimicrobial leads through Public Health England and the Department’s Expert Advisory Group on Antimicrobial Prescribing Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections who published guidance on appropriate alternative treatment options to ensure that any impact on patient care has been minimised. This guidance provided recommendations on the different broad spectrum antibiotics, or a combination of narrower spectrum antibiotics that can be used to treat the range of infections for which piperacillin-tazobactam is licensed.

Mental Health Services

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the Government has made in implementing recommendation 52 of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health on undertaking a review of existing regulations of the Health and Social Care Act to identify disparities and gaps between provisions relating to physical and mental health services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Health and Social Care Act 2012 placed the principle of parity of esteem on a statutory footing. As set out in the Queen’s Speech, the Government will review the mental health legislative landscape, including how the Mental Health Act is implemented on the ground.

Mental Health Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS mental health patients were treated in non-NHS institutions in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The data requested is not available in the format requested.

Mental Health Services: Hospital Beds

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS beds were available for mental health patients in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: Information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publish quarterly data from all National Health Service organisations that operate beds that are open overnight or day only. This includes the number of mental illness beds. This data is available at the link below:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/

NHS: Land

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure that any spare land sold off by the NHS is used to build affordable homes for low-paid NHS staff.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Government is committed to ensuring that National Health Service land is used in a way that ensures the best possible services for patients, the best value for taxpayers in freeing additional resources for reinvestment in new facilities and services, and which supports wider housing objectives. This includes freeing surplus NHS land sufficient for 26,000 homes. As part of this, we recognise that in some areas it may be beneficial for NHS organisations to use their surplus land to provide housing for their staff. We have been engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to understand better the housing need for NHS staff, and for the first time have started to collect data on where NHS organisations are already using their land in this way. The need for affordable homes for NHS staff differs across the country, and we are working with the NHS, housing associations, and other partners to explore opportunities for developing local solutions.

General Practitioners: Social Security Benefits

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Government provides guidance to GP surgeries on whether they should provide supporting letters for disability benefit claims if patients request them.

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of GP surgeries refuse to provide supporting letters for disability benefit claimants; what proportion of surgeries charge for those letters; and how much surgeries charge to issue those letters.

Steve Brine: NHS England contracts with general practitioners (GPs) as independent providers of medical services for the National Health Service. Under the terms of their contract, GPs are required to provide certain medical reports or complete certain forms, including those related to claiming disability benefits, free of charge to their registered patients. Outside their contractual requirements, GPs also offer a variety of other services which successive governments have regarded as private matters between the patient and the GP. In such cases, decisions on whether to charge a fee and the level of the fee charged are at the GP’s discretion. Where GPs intend to charge for services to patients, the British Medical Association (BMA) advises them to forewarn patients, at the earliest opportunity, of the likely level of fees. The BMA also produces guidance on the level of fees that should be charged for commonly provided services.

Hospitals: Insulation

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospitals have been identified which are clad with (a) material similar to the Grenfell Tower and (b) other fire-risk material; what remedial work has been carried out on those hospitals; and whether additional funding will be provided by the Government to ensure remedial work on those hospitals is not met from existing NHS budgets.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what instructions his Department have provided to NHS bodies related to fire safety checks; and whether all hospitals in England have been fire assessed.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data the Government collects centrally on whether standard fire safety checks around building structures, escape routes, fire alarms and sprinklers are up to date across all NHS sites.

Mr Philip Dunne: The National Health Service estate encompasses a huge, varied and complex set of buildings and facilities. Currently annual running costs of the NHS estates are over £8 billion, and NHS providers also spend some £3 billion annually on capital investment, in particular on maintaining and improving their estates and infrastructure. The use of resources to find and remedy fire safety issues remains an absolute priority.As part of the response to the tragic events at Grenfell Tower, actions have been implemented across the NHS to assess the risks of similar issues and ensure that the NHS estate is safe.Fire safety checks of NHS facilities are regularly undertaken in line with legislation and guidance. Hospitals are well prepared – each one has a tailored fire safety plan, which includes assessment of the provision of fire safety precautions including alarms and evacuation plans. But nothing is more important than the safety of patients and staff, so on a precautionary basis we asked all hospitals to conduct additional checks. Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS Improvement instigated inspections by local fire and rescue services on 24 June 2017.All NHS trusts and foundation trusts were asked to carry out urgent fire safety checks following the Grenfell Tower fire. All NHS trusts have provided assurance that they have undertaken a fire risk assessment in the past 12 months.NHS Improvement has identified 38 organisations requiring support to carry out urgent checks to ascertain if they had cladding similar to that used on the Grenfell Tower. All 38 of these ‘priority 1’ trusts have started 24-hour fire warden patrols. As of 6 July, of those trusts and foundation trusts:- 19 have had fire safety inspections and a review of additional technical information supplied to NHS Improvement and no further action is necessary at this stage;- 16 are not required to take further action at this stage as the building material sampled is not aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding;- samples of ACM cladding taken from three providers have failed combustibility tests;- The three providers that have failed ACM tests are taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of those buildings and occupants, in line with updated fire safety guidance issued by NHS Improvement. Of these three providers:- a test sample taken from an office building at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust failed an ACM fire safety test. The Trust has already removed the cladding as a precautionary measure. This was not a building used by patients;- Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is taking steps to remove cladding from one of its buildings following a failed ACM test result. The building is not used for inpatient accommodation and measures are being put in place to ensure the safety of the building while the ACM is removed; and- samples from a building at North Middlesex University Hospitals NHS Trust have also failed the ACM combustibility test. The cladded areas do not house any inpatients.NHS Improvement have confirmed that patient safety is paramount, and that there will be no disruptions to patient services or continuity of care.

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is required to consult on proposed changes to delivery of acute services in South-West Hertfordshire.

Mr Philip Dunne: All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. It is right that these decisions are led by local clinicians, who best understand the healthcare needs of their local populations, and in consultation with local people. Any changes should meet the four Government tests for significant service change: they should have support from general practitioner commissioners, be based on clinical evidence, demonstrate public and patient engagement, and consider patient choice. There is additional NHS England guidance which means that proposed service reconfigurations should be tested for their impact on overall bed numbers in the area.

NHS: Hertfordshire

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual administration costs are for the NHS in Hertfordshire.

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual administration costs are of each clinical commissioning group in Hertfordshire.

Mr Philip Dunne: The administration costs for Hertfordshire clinical commissioning groups in 2016-17 was: Clinical Commissioning GroupAdministrative CostsEast and North Hertfordshire£11.0 millionHerts Valleys£13.2 million The Department does not hold administration costs for National Health Service trusts or foundation trusts.

Doctors: EU Nationals

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors from the EU countries newly registered with the General Medical Council in each month in the last two years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information requested is not collected by the Department.

Piperacillin-tazobactam

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure future supplies of the Tazocin brand of the antibiotic piperacillin-tazobactam.

Steve Brine: The Department is in direct contact with all suppliers of piperacillin-tazobactam about future supplies coming into the United Kingdom, including Pfizer who market the brand Tazocin. Pfizer currently have supplies available and have confirmed that they are able to bring larger volumes of Tazocin to the UK market from October onwards. Several other suppliers of generic piperacillin-tazobactam injection have also confirmed supplies are available and there is no clinical preference between any given manufacturer’s version of the medicine.

Carers

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 7 March 2017 to Question 66131, on carers, what plans he has to publish the national carers strategy.

Steve Brine: The Government remains committed to supporting carers to provide care as they would wish, and to do so in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing, employment and wider life chances.We have said that more widely we will consult on proposals to improve social care. Next steps will be set out in due course.

Health Professions: EU Nationals

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) nurses and (b) midwives from other EU countries newly registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in each month in the last two years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information requested is not collected by the Department.

Prisoners: Dementia

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people who have been diagnosed with dementia are currently held in prison.

Steve Brine: This information is not collected centrally.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients: Next of Kin

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times a nearest relative formally objected to the detention or transferral into detention of a person under the Mental Health Act 1983 in the most recent year for which data is available.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications to displace an unsuitable nearest relative under section 29 of the Mental Health Act 1983 have been made in England in the most recent year for which data is available.

Steve Brine: The information requested is not collected.

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which (a) organisations and (b) individuals have the power to dismiss the governing body of a clinical commissioning group.

Steve Brine: NHS England is able to dismiss the governing body of a clinical commissioning group (CCG). It has formal powers of direction if it is satisfied that a CCG is failing or is at risk of failing to discharge its functions.

Hidradenitis Supparativa: Adalimumab

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals NHS England has approved to prescribe Adalimumab for the treatment of hidradenitis supparativa.

Steve Brine: NHS England commissions Adalimumab through the following hospitals as an element of specialised dermatology services, which can include the treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa. - Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust;- Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust;- Barts Health NHS Trust;- Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust;- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust;- County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust;- Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust;- Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust;- Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust;- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust;- King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust;- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust;- Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust;- Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust;- Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust;- Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust;- Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust;- Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust;- Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust;- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust;- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust;- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust;- University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust;- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust; and- University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.

Health Services: Private Sector

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on whether patients who receive NHS care from (a) Virgin Care and (b) other private providers of NHS Care should pay for any element of the treatment at point of delivery.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Government’s policy is that National Health Service care is free at the point of delivery regardless of who provides it.

Ophthalmic Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote to health commissioners the role that community optical practices can play in delivering eyecare services.

Steve Brine: It is for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to take decisions on whether to commission eye care services over and above the National Health Service sight test, where they judge them to be needed in their areas. NHS England has been working with the Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning (CCEHC) to support the development of a range of guidelines for CCGs on evidence based clinical pathways for eye health. As part of this work the CCEHC have published both a Primary Eye Care and Community Ophthalmology framework. Both seek to encourage greater commissioning outside of the hospital setting in order to reduce pressure within secondary care, improve services for patients and offer efficiencies for the NHS.

Mental Illness: Police Custody

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people spent time in a police station as a place of safety due to a mental health condition in 2016-17.

Steve Brine: The data is not yet available. We have made good progress to stop people in mental health crisis being taken to police cells with the 2016-17 data showing there has been almost 80% reduction in cases since 2011-12.

Orthopaedics: Rehabilitation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England had an operation to amputate a limb in each year since 2010; and what proportion of those people received psychological support during their rehabilitation.

Steve Brine: The information is not available in the format requested.

Police: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many police forces in England operate a street triage scheme to support people with mental illness.

Steve Brine: 38 out of 40 police forces in England have access to a Street Triage service – where mental health nurses accompany police officers on patrols, however, all forces have direct access to Mental Health Partners who provide advice and support them in dealing with the public.

Eating Disorders

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental health treatment available to people aged over 25 who have been diagnosed with an eating disorder.

Steve Brine: NHS England has commissioned the NHS Benchmarking Network to undertake a data collection exercise in 2017/19 looking at both inpatient and community based provision for adult eating disorder services. This exercise will assess levels of investment and access. It will also consider the profile and skill mix of the supporting workforce. NHS England has also commissioned the National Collaborating Centre for mental health to develop implementation guidance for an adult eating disorders pathway, building on the recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guideline published in May 2017 for the recognition and treatment of adult eating disorders. It is intended that this work will be published in spring 2018.

Surgery: Kirklees

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group on its decision to delay surgery to those who are overweight and/or smoke; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning care that will provide the best possible outcomes for their patients. In doing so, they should take into account best practice and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. As some treatments pose higher risks for severely overweight patients and those who smoke, it is often appropriate that local general practitioner-led commissioners offer support to help those patients lose weight and stop smoking before their treatment. All treatment decisions are made on a case by case basis. North Kirklees CCG will continue to work closely with NHS England to ensure the Health Optimisation programme remains compliant with any future national guidelines and policies. A patient engagement survey is being undertaken and there will be a continuous review process of the impact of the Health Optimisation programme.

Smoking: Obesity

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential public health and economic benefits of health optimisation plans on delaying NHS treatments to patients who smoke or are overweight.

Steve Brine: Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning care that will provide the best possible outcomes for their patients. In doing so, they should take into account best practice and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. As some treatments pose higher risks for severely overweight patients and those who smoke, it is often appropriate that local general practitioner-led commissioners offer support to help those patients lose weight and stop smoking before their treatment. All treatment decisions are made on a case by case basis. Decisions will continue to be made on a case by case basis. People who do not wish to access support services or fail to meet relevant criteria will still be able to have their operation after the relevant time period.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Surgery

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he plans to offer to clinical commissioning groups which introduce policy for joint surgery.

Steve Brine: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are primarily responsible for commissioning services to meet the requirements of their population. In doing so, CCGs need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population, are based on the available evidence. CCGs should take national guidelines into account as they take commissioning decisions.It is the role of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England (alongside other arm’s length bodies) to issue guidance to CCGs, based on the latest evidence and expertise.

Surgery

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to clinical care groups on providing surgery for people who are overweight or who smoke.

Steve Brine: Individual clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning the care that will provide the best possible outcomes for their patients in line with their legal duties and with regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for different conditions and treatments.Weight and smoking status are considerations that clinicians should take into account when considering surgery as a treatment option because these factors have a significant bearing on patient outcomes.

Cystic Fibrosis: Medical Treatments

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of agreeing a portfolio approach with Vertex Pharmaceuticals to secure accelerated access through the NHS to that company's current and future treatments for cystic fibrosis.

Steve Brine: Ministers and Government officials have had a number of discussions with Vertex and NHS England in which the availability of Orkambi for the treatment of cystic fibrosis was raised. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops guidance for the National Health Service on whether new drugs and treatments represent a clinically and cost effective use of resources. NICE published final guidance on the use of Orkambi (lumacaftor-ivacaftor) for treating cystic fibrosis homozygous for the F508del mutation in July 2016 that does not recommend this treatment. Where NICE has not been able to recommend a treatment, funding decisions should be made by the relevant NHS commissioner, based on an assessment of the available evidence.

Ambulance Services: Essex

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information he holds on what discussions have taken place between the leadership of the East of England Ambulance Service and their counterparts in the Essex Success Regime on the availability of ambulances to support the Success Regime's proposals for hospital reconfiguration.

Mr Philip Dunne: East of England Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust has been involved at all stages of discussion and consultation about the configuration of emergency care services in Mid and South Essex.

Ambulance Services: East of England

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information he holds on the estimated travel time for an emergency ambulance travelling from Southend Hospital to Basildon Hospital on (a) a non-emergency journey and (b) an emergency blue light run.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department does not hold this type of information, however we understand that there is work ongoing to model journey times across the region.

East of England Ambulance Service

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many emergency ambulances the East of England Ambulance Service has in its fleet; and how many of those ambulances are normally based in Essex.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Improvement advises that there are 324 ambulances in East of England Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust’s fleet, of which 68 are normally based in Essex.

Croydon University Hospital

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Members for Croydon North and Croydon Central dated 12 June 2017 on Croydon University Hospital.

Mr Philip Dunne: I responded to the hon. Members’ letter on 7 July.

Croydon University Hospital

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will protect Croydon University Hospital from closure or downgrading.

Mr Philip Dunne: All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. For the first time under this Government, any significant service changes will be subject to a full consultation and any changes should meet the four tests for service change: they should have support from general practitioner commissioners, be based on clinical evidence, demonstrate public and patient engagement, and consider patient choice. There is additional NHS England guidance which means that proposed service reconfigurations should be tested for their impact on overall bed numbers in the area. It is right that these the local National Health Service should consider, through the South West London Sustainability and Transformation Plan, how services should be organised across South West London, including Croydon, at a level where the local healthcare needs are best understood rather than in Whitehall.

NHS: Reorganisation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will remind the leaders of each sustainability and transformation plan of the rules of the process.

Steve Brine: Whilst national health and care bodies, chiefly NHS England and NHS Improvement, have continuously published guidance on the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) process, it is for STPs to determine how best to implement this in these areas. NHS England and NHS Improvement have been working with STP leaders since the beginning of the process to ensure that appropriate support is available, and will continue to do so as STPs develop.

NHS: Greater London

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to make the south west London Sustainability and Transformation Plan process more accountable and open to the public.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the accountability to the public of the south west London Sustainability and Transformation Plan process.

Steve Brine: It is critical that the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) planning process is accountable to the public. It is for local areas to determine how best to do this. Throughout its development, South West London STP has made efforts to ensure it is accountable and open to the public. For example, in 2015, the National Health Service organisations that underpin South West London STP published an ‘issues paper’ and undertook a series of engagement activities, including a series of events across South West London that were open to the public. Outcomes of local engagement were then incorporated into the STP process. Additionally, a dashboard and assessment of STP performance will shortly be published. Local communities can use this as a mechanism for holding the local NHS to account.

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Standards

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress is being made on improving the performance of West Hertfordshire NHS Hospital Trust.

Mr Philip Dunne: West Hertfordshire NHS Hospital Trust achieved an improved rating following the publication of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) recent report in March from “Inadequate” to “Requires Improvement”. There has been a change in leadership at the Trust since its previous inspection and good progress has been made, particularly with regard to improving safety. NHS Improvement is providing effective support; an Improvement Director is in place; the Trust has a buddying arrangement with Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and was awarded £1 million funding to improve accident and emergency services ahead of the winter. The West Herts Cardiac Centre opened in April, more than doubling the number of its specialist nurses and increasing the number of consultants at the Trust. As a result, waiting times are decreasing and the service has improved its referral to treatment target. Further improvements are still needed. However much has changed for the better since the Trust was placed in special measures in September 2015. The CQC is planning a further inspection later this year.

Urgent Care Centres: Hemel Hempstead

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when it is planned that the Urgent Care Centre in Hemel Hempstead will reopen 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Mr Philip Dunne: This is a matter for the local National Health Service. We understand the Urgent Care Centre at Hemel Hempstead has been closed overnight on a temporary basis. Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group is working with West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust to consider different possible models of delivery of the service.

Watford General Hospital

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will instruct West Hertfordshire NHS Hospitals Trust to publish any contracts they have signed with private developers for the Watford hospital site; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust has advised that it has not signed any contracts with private developers for the Watford hospital site. Public procurement is regulated in the United Kingdom by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/102). The Regulations require the publication of details of all contract opportunities and certain information about contracts awarded on Contracts Finder, unless a specific exception applies. The rules apply to contracts awarded by National Health Service trusts above £25,000 although the procurement of certain health care services is exempt. The Contracts Finder website can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Tidal Power

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to promote tidal energy and wave power as part of the UK's Industrial Strategy.

Richard Harrington: As part of the Industrial Strategy, we are engaging with all sectors to deliver an economy that works for everyone. The Department provides innovation funding aimed at developing new, innovative technologies and cost reductions. Once they reach commercial deployment, wave and tidal projects can compete with other renewable technologies for support through Contracts For Difference.

Energy: Billing

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of households (a) with prepayment meters, (b) on standard variable tariffs and (c) on fixed-price tariffs; what the average price paid was for a dual fuel energy bill on each available tariff and type in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 03 July 2017



Customer proportions and energy bill estimates are based on a BEIS survey of energy providers which covers around 84 per cent of the market. This data is published as part of our Quarterly Energy Prices publication.a) At the end of Q1 2017 the proportion of GB households on a prepayment meter was 14 per cent for standard electricity, 21 per cent for Economy 7 electricity and 13 per cent for gas.b) At the end of Q1 2017 the proportion of GB households on variable tariffs was 66 per cent for standard electricity and 65 per cent for gas.c) Data is supplied to BEIS in confidence so dual fuel bills are not available for each individual tariff, however aggregate statistics of average bills by payment and tariff type can be published. The table below shows average 2016 dual fuel bills based on combined UK standard electricity bills and GB gas bills, using consumption levels of 3,800kWh/year of standard electricity and 15,000kWh/year of gas. CreditDirect DebitPrepaymentVariable Tariff£1345£1269£1337Fixed Tariff£1233£1059£1309 Domestic energy price statistics are also published by Ofgem at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/data-portal/retail-market-indicators.

Natural Gas: Storage

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the cost and benefits to the consumer of gas storage provided by the Rough facility.

Richard Harrington: Centrica Storage Ltd’s decision to close the Rough gas storage facility is a commercial decision based on the age of the asset and the costs of repair. As such, we do not have the information to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the costs and benefits of maintaining the gas storage facility at Rough. However, we have recently undertaken a full strategic assessment of our long-term gas security, including scenarios without Rough. We will publish this in due course. The UK continues to be benefit from a range of flexible sources of natural gas, including: production from the North Sea; six international gas pipelines with Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands; three Liquefied Natural Gas terminals that can bring gas from anywhere in the world; and a number of modern, responsive gas storage facilities.

Renewable Energy

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the proportion of electricity to be produced from renewable sources in (a) 2020, (b) 2030 and (c) 2035 for (i) the UK and (ii) Wales.

Richard Harrington: The Department has published projections of electricity generation by source for the UK; regarding renewables1 the following projections have been made (TWh = terawatt-hours).Year202020302035TWh121137176Percentage384346 The Department does not break down these figures into regions.The figures are based on central estimates of economic growth and fossil fuel prices and contains all agreed policies where decisions on policy design are sufficiently advanced to allow robust estimates of impact (i.e. including "planned" policies). The detailed description of the methodology used to calculate the electricity projections can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2016  1 Includes a small amount of generation from non-renewable wastes.

Carbon Capture and Storage

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will provide an update on the Government's Carbon Capture and Storage roll-out strategy for (a) oil, (b) natural gas and (c) coal burning processes.

Richard Harrington: The Government’s view is that carbon capture and storage (CCS) has a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s economy, but its costs must come down.We will set our plans for CCS in due course, taking into account the findings and recommendations made in the report ‘Lowest Cost Decarbonisation for the UK: the critical role of carbon capture and storage’, published by the Lord Oxburgh-led Parliamentary Advisory Group on CCS.

Natural Gas: Storage

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the merits of seasonal gas storage facilities in obtaining greater price stability for energy-intensive users of gas.

Richard Harrington: A report published in 2013 by Redpoint, commissioned by DECC, looked at the merits of various interventions in the gas market, including new gas storage facilities. This report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236757/DECC_FI_Final_report_09072013.pdf I refer the Hon Member to my answer to his previous question 1604 which notes that the UK continues to enjoy highly diverse and flexible gas supplies.

Small Businesses: Investment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will publish a target for increasing equity investment in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on equity investments in small and medium-sized enterprises by region in each of the last five years.

Margot James: The British Business Bank holds the following information on UK equity investments through Government initiatives (including private sector funding) in small and medium-sized enterprises by region in each of the last five years. Please note, as the British Business Bank was incorporated in November 2014, the earlier data relates to activity prior to its formation. 2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17RegionValue (£)Value (£)Value (£)Value (£)Value (£)East Midlands1,732,93615,373,3756,419,86120,794,57712,494,164East of England13,327,4517,118,56617,619,81036,798,46929,829,456London75,439,43090,057,648101,479,286176,478,987125,695,479North East2,780,0001,583,9781,012,16524,4552,342,542North West7,953,89421,223,1134,769,77818,823,5416,508,519South East16,154,85541,909,35348,306,95027,387,89537,587,276South West10,359,7386,863,45312,502,88511,042,67112,190,985West Midlands4,963,9364,994,2605,168,8546,113,159253,153Yorkshire & Humber170,000700,00015,970,748609,976884,052Scotland23,544,9895,444,79940,631,08015,119,26017,460,657Wales918,7501,177,2354,991,1035,849,616531,560Northern Ireland--1,145,180-525,000 The Government is committed to increasing the supply of finance to SMEs and a more diverse financial market, rather than setting targets for type of investment SME should be taking. We continue to provide information to increase businesses understanding of the finance options available to them.

Small Businesses: Expenditure

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on spending by small and medium-sized enterprises in each of the last five years.

Margot James: The Department does not hold data on spending by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Small Businesses: Loans

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many loans between £10 million to £25 million the British Business Bank lent to small and medium-sized enterprises in each of the last five years.

Margot James: The British Business Bank does not finance businesses directly. It is a government-owned economic development bank that makes finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, allowing those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity. It is not a bank in a conventional sense, but instead provides funds and guarantees to private sector partners, enabling them to finance a greater number of smaller businesses (either through debt or equity). It uses economic evidence to design programmes that address market failures affecting smaller businesses across the economy. It also works to improve smaller businesses’ awareness of the finance options available to them. The British Business Bank’s programmes are already supporting almost £3.5bn of finance to more than 56,000 smaller businesses and are participating in a further £5.5bn finance to small mid-cap businesses (as at end December 2016).

Business Angel Co-investment Fund

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding the (a) Government and (b) British Business Bank have contributed to the Angel CoFund in each of the last five years; and how much funding the Government plans to provide over the next two years.

Margot James: The Angel CoFund started in 2011 and makes equity investments alongside syndicates of business angels (high net worth individuals) who invest in early-stage companies. It seeks to back promising UK businesses and help develop the important business angel investment market. The Government, working through the British Business Bank, has committed £70m to the Angel CoFund, and plans to provide a further £30m in due course.

National Grid: Security

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what security assessments his Department has made since the acquisition of a majority stake in the National Grid by the consortium comprising the Qatar Investment Authority and others.

Richard Harrington: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have made clear, the UK is, and will remain, one of the most open economies in the world, including to foreign direct investment. We will also ensure that any investment serves the national interest. This deal, which involves a crucial part of the UK’s critical infrastructure, was no different. While national security considerations do not allow us to comment on the specific assessments we undertake, we continue to work collaboratively to understand and respond to all threats and hazards in the energy sector. This includes work across Government and with our agencies to understand the risk profiles, regular engagement with industry to develop mitigation strategies and ensuring that we have the knowledge and robust procedures in place to respond to challenges as they arise.

EGNOS

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the net value of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System.

Joseph Johnson: The Government recognises the benefits our involvement in European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) and Galileo satellite navigation systems bring for the UK. These include the use of EGNOS at UK airports which allow aircraft to land even during poor weather, as well as the commercial benefits to UK companies involved in the design, building and operation of the systems. UK participation is judged to be beneficial overall.

Copernicus Programme

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the net value of the EU's Copernicus polar tracker satellite system.

Joseph Johnson: The Government recognises the benefits our involvement in the Copernicus Earth observation system brings for the UK. These include efficiency savings for local Government in delivering public service and for central Government in managing disaster relief efforts and sustainable development. Additionally UK industry benefits from building the systems and UK SMEs utilise the data provided by the system to benefit from a growing space-enabled economy. UK participation is judged to be beneficial overall. No specific assessment of the value of the polar tracker satellite system has been made.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the recommendation set out in The role of tidal lagoons, published in December 2016, to proceed with the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.

Richard Harrington: The Government is currently assessing the recommendations of the Hendry Review and will publish a response in due course.

Renewable Energy: Electricity Generation

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much electricity was produced from (a) wind, (b) tidal, (c) biomass, (d) solar, (e) hydro and (f) geothermal power in (i) Gloucestershire and (ii) England in each of the last five years.

Richard Harrington: The amount of electricity (in gigawatt hours) generated by wind, tidal, biomass, solar, and hydro generation in England in each of the last five years is as follows:  20122013201420152016 (provisional)Generation GWh Wind9,05414,24016,52520,98119,657Wave / tidal000--Solar PV1,1981,7893,6246,7469,261Hydro888310110387Landfill gas4,3244,3364,2574,1063,961Sewage sludge digestion645685773815872Other biomass (inc. co-firing)7,51511,02415,17421,44122,127Total 22,824  32,158  40,453  54,192  55,966  Source: statistics from the latest quarterly edition of Energy Trends, tables ET 6.1, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-trends-section-6-renewables There is no electricity generation from geothermal sources in the UK. Official statistics on renewable electricity generation are not collected at county level. However, they are available at local authority level (for 2014 and 2015 currently). The table below gives the combined figure for Gloucester, South Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Cotswold, Forest of Dean and Stroud local authorities for the two years available. Figures for 2016 will be available on 28 September 2017.  20142015Generation GWhWind3.15.5Wave / tidal--Solar PV83.6170.6Hydro0.30.2Landfill gas85.784.9Sewage sludge digestion10.19.5Other biomass (inc. co-firing)31.654.8Total214.3325.6 Source: Renewable electricity by local authority, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/regional-renewable-statistics

Energy: Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps are being taken to encourage householders to seek the cheapest energy deals available to them to help them to cut energy bills.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 06 July 2017



We are working with the sector to make it quicker and easier to switch supplier and are working with Ofgem to move to even faster and more reliable switching.Ofgem are working on developing better ways to engage consumers and on 3 July announced trials to help customers on expensive standard tariffs find and switch to cheaper energy deals.

Energy: Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps are being taken to protect poorer households from fuel poverty caused by the high prices of pre-payment energy meters.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 06 July 2017



Customers in fuel poverty use a range of methods to pay their energy bills. Latest BEIS Fuel Poverty data published on 29 June 2017 shows that in 2015, of the 2,885,000 households who paid for their gas supply by prepayment meter, 613,000 were fuel poor. Of the 3,550,000 million households who paid for their electricity supply by prepayment meter, 776,000 were fuel poor.From 1 April this year, as a result of action by Competition Markets Authority, a cap on the amount energy suppliers can charge prepayment customers was introduced. The cap covers 4.5 million households saving many dual fuel customers £80 a year.On 3 July Ofgem announced proposals to cap warrant charges to install prepayment meters and ban these charges altogether for the most vulnerable.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Margot James: As stated in the Government’s Transformation Strategy and the Conservative Manifesto, this government is committed to providing services that are digital by default - reducing paper and manual processing, reducing cost and improving user satisfaction.BEIS is actively working with all its Arm’s Length Bodies, internal teams and contracted service providers to reduce the amount of paper processing by delivering services digitally wherever possible. There will always be some exceptions where, for legal reasons, paper processing is required but we will continue to explore how new technologies can overcome these barriers and implement them as soon as possible.Some examples of what the BEIS Group has already delivered or are in the process of delivering include:Land Registry has developed a new Local Land Charge Register Service to digitise existing paper records from 326 Local Authorities and migrate them to a single national Local Land Charge register. This will improve resilience, improve the customer experience of using this service and introduce standardise fees.The Innovation Funding Service has developed a new digital service to replace a previously paper based process to submit online applications for research and development funding. Innovate UK run approximately 100 competitions per year and receives in excess of 4,000 applications.Finally, the Intellectual Property Office has designed a new digital service that enables customers to apply for a patent design online. This includes the implementation of a new back office system that will deliver a more efficient, cost effective service that will lower operating costs and reduce the fees for customers registering a design.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether any planning applications have been submitted for new onshore wind farms since 9 June 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: The information requested is not held by the Department at this time.The Department maintains the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), which tracks the progress of new renewable energy projects, including onshore wind projects, as they move through the planning system. The database is updated and published on a monthly basis. An update for June 2017 will be published shortly on the Department’s website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-planning-database-monthly-extractIt should be noted that the REPD shows projects that have applied for planning permission in the previous month or earlier for projects with a capacity greater than, or equal to, 1MW. Therefore, planning applications that were submitted in June may appear in later monthly REPD updates.

Fracking: Regulation

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on establishing a Shale Environmental Regulator; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: The Government has been recently elected and its approach to implementing the manifesto proposals, including the establishment of a Shale Environmental Regulator, has yet to be finalised.

Renewable Energy: Technology Transfer

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the role the Government is playing in facilitating technological transfer to smaller countries to grow their renewable energy sectors and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Richard Harrington: The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy prepares biennial reports to the United Nations on the UK’s progress in tackling climate change, which include an assessment of the technical and financial support that HMG provides to other countries to assist them to deploy clean energy. The most recent report can be found on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website: http://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/biennial_reports_and_iar/submitted_biennial_reports/application/pdf/20151218_uk_biennial_report_2_web_accessible.pdf. Chapter 5 sets out an overview of the financial and technical support provided and Table 7 in Annex 1 provides details of individual projects.

Renewable Energy: Jamaica

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support the transfer of technology to Jamaica in relation to the renewable energy programme in that country.

Richard Harrington: The UK has provided 9% of donor funding to the 6th replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF6). Total funding for GEF6 including projected investment income and other sources of finance is expected to be $4.43bn (2014-2018). The GEF is currently providing $2.3m to the Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions (LGGE) Project, a programme which is promoting Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Buildings in Jamaica.

Energy: Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many households are on energy suppliers' standard variable rates.

Richard Harrington: BEIS run a quarterly survey of domestic electricity and gas suppliers. This survey has coverage of around 85 per cent of the market. Data is supplied to BEIS, on numbers of customers by tariff by region by payment type, but as this data is supplied in confidence, individual tariff or company data cannot be made publically available.Aggregate statistics are produced and published as part of our quarterly energy prices (QEP) publication. In quarter 1 2017, we estimate 66 per cent of standard electricity and 65 per cent of gas customers were on variable tariffs. Our current methodology does not breakout standard variable tariffs from other variable tariffs.Data can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-price-stastics

Euratom

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK withdrawing from Euratom on cancer research in the UK.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Euratom

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK withdrawing from Euratom on energy production in the UK.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Self-employed

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support his Department provides to people who are self-employed.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the financial support available to people who are self-employed.

Margot James: The Government supports self-employed people and everyone else who wants to start and grow their own business. The GOV.UK website and the Business Support Helpline provide information on starting and running a business. Start Up Loans offer start up finance and business advice and Growth hubs also provide access to local and national support. There are 4.8 million people who are self-employed.BEIS Ministers meet regularly with their counterparts across Government to discuss a range of policy issues of mutual interest.

Business: Broadband

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the quality of broadband available for use by businesses.

Margot James: Business broadband connectivity lies at the heart of the Government’s national infrastructure priorities, set out in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper earlier this year, and Ministers and officials in the Department are in regular contact with their counterparts in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ensure business connectivity needs are addressed.

Energy: Meters

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of whether the smart meter roll-out is proceeding according to timetable; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: The Government is committed to ensuring that every home and small business in the country is offered a smart meter the end of 2020. The Programme is making good progress and consumers are already benefiting from smart meters. There are now almost 7 million meters operating across homes and business in Great Britain: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-1-2017

Natural Gas: Prices

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on the closure of the Rough gas storage facility on domestic gas prices; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: Centrica Storage Ltd’s decision to close the Rough gas storage facility is a commercial decision based on the age of the asset and the costs of repair. As such, we do not have the information to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the effect on wholesale gas prices of maintaining the gas storage facility at Rough. However, Rough was unavailable in the market last winter, and we believe this was largely expected by market participants so we don’t expect any significant effect on prices.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Harriett Baldwin: The Ministry of Defence is committed to reducing its paper-based processes by digitising these where possible. The Department is committed to delivering the Government Transformation Strategy and, in February 2017, published the Defence Information Strategy highlighting its strategic objectives to deliver user-centric digital services.Work to identify where manual processes exist and explore opportunities to digitise them is ongoing across the Department. For example, as part of the transformation of our Defence Business Services organisation, a Forms Digitisation project is seeking to automate as many paper forms as possible in order to reduce manual processing and improve the experience for the end user.

Ministry of Defence: Wines

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on wine in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.The MOD has strict rules on hospitality, including the purchase of alcohol. Public funds are not to be used for 'drinks only' functions, other than at official receptions.

Ministry of Defence: Official Hospitality

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on hospitality for foreign (a) military personnel and (b) civilian defence officials in the last 12 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

European Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what timetable his Department has set for the feasibility study on introducing a collision warning system on Typhoon aircraft.

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans for all Typhoon aircrafts to be fitted with a collision warning system; and what the timescale for fitting that system is.

Harriett Baldwin: The RAF is committed to equipping all its Typhoon aircraft with a collision warning system. Under current plans as part of a phased programme Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 aircraft will be fitted with a system by mid 2019. Studies into fitting a collision warning system to Tranche 1 aircraft are ongoing.

Radar

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support development of UK sovereign military radar capability.

Harriett Baldwin: The Ministry of Defence takes the maintenance of Operational Advantage and Freedom of Action very seriously. Radar technology is a rapidly developing area and we are investing in technology developments in order to update our capabilities to meet emerging threats. In doing so we strive to meet the needs of our Armed Forces with responsible acquisitions that comply with our security and capability requirements. The development of an Active Electronic Scanned Array radar for Typhoon is an example of such investment.

Ballistic Missile Defence: Radar

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.16 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what progress has been made on his Department's plan to invest in a ground-based BMD radar.

Harriett Baldwin: Since the Strategic Defence and Security Review announcement, the UK missile defence community has been undertaking detailed scoping of the options for the future ground-based ballistic missile defence (BMD) radar. A Request For Information was issued to Industry in June this year to gather information about radar technology and capability. We expect the radar to be in service by the mid-2020s.

RAF Henlow

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many homes he expects to be built on land currently owned by his Department at RAF Henlow in each of the next five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: RAF Henlow has been identified as having a Housing Unit potential for up-to 2,000 houses. The number of houses built on the site once sold is a matter for the future purchaser and the local Planning Authority.

Type 45 Destroyers

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.16 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what recent representations his Department has received from NATO on the Government's commitment to investigate further the potential of the Type 45 destroyers to operate in a BMD role.

Mark Lancaster: Since the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the UK has continued to explore the potential for the Type 45 Destroyers to operate in a ballistic missile defence role, including through active engagement with NATO partners.

RAF Henlow

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much revenue his Department will receive from the sale of land at RAF Henlow for the construction of the proposed science, innovation and technology park at that site.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: RAF Henlow has been identified for disposal in accordance with the Department's standard procedures as mandated by the Treasury but has not yet been sold.The future of the site is subject to on-going detailed assessment work.The Department is aware of a proposal to develop the site as a science innovation and technology park, but no formal discussions on this topic have taken place or offers made.

Sentinel Aircraft

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans for the number of Sentinel surveillance aircraft in service to be reduced.

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the Sentinel surveillance aircraft will not have an extended service until 2021.

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the Government has reduced the number of Sentinel surveillance aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The original service date for the Sentinel fleet has been extended from 2018 to 2021. This will be achieved by careful fleet management practices, including the removal of one Sentinel from front line service with effect from 1 April 2017.

Defence: Reviews

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to produce a new Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to produce a new chapter for the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Sir Michael Fallon: The Government conducted a comprehensive Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2015. However, the evolving global security situation means we constantly keep under review the best way to keep Britain safe.

Defence: Procurement

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of introducing the compulsory disclosure of certification and steel origin in UK defence procurement.

Harriett Baldwin: In December 2016, the Government issued updated guidance on how Departments should ensure they take full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting their procurement activities. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to follow this guidance, which has also now been extended to the wider public sector.In the main, defence steel requirements are sourced by our prime contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers, reflecting the overarching need to ensure competitive cost, time and quality. The specialist nature of some of our steel requirements means that UK steel producers do not always have the capability to supply our programmes. There are no plans to introduce the compulsory disclosure of certification and steel origin in UK defence procurement. However, the MOD is committed to facilitating the right conditions and supply chain opportunities for a competitive and sustainable steel industry across UK defence.

Type 26 Frigates

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 27 June 2017, Contingent Liability, HCWS 14, that three Type 26 global combat ships will be built, (a) how much steel in tonnes will be used to construct those ships and (b) what the country of origin is of that steel.

Harriett Baldwin: Around 4,000 tonnes of steel will be required to build each Type 26 Frigate. Steel will be sourced principally from the UK and Sweden. For some grades of plate steel the combination of thickness, size and flatness specifications needed for the Type 26 Frigates mean that the steel cannot be sourced in its entirety in the UK.

Trident: Electronic Warfare

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of upgrading the current operating system for the Trident nuclear weapons system to ensure its cyber security.

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the cyber security of the Trident nuclear weapons system.

Sir Michael Fallon: We continually assess the capability of the United Kingdom's nuclear submarine fleet to ensure its operational effectiveness and to maintain resilience against potential threats.I am withholding information on the specific systems used by our submarines as disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Syria: Military Intervention

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the UK is taking, as a member of the US-led Counter-Daesh coalition, to ensure that civilian casualties are minimised in the military offensive in Raqqa.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the level of civilian casualties in Syria as a result of the recent Counter-Daesh military assault on Raqqa.

Mark Lancaster: The RAF's targeting process is rigorous: the protection of civilians is at its heart. Commanders constantly weigh the arguments for and against strikes in their consideration of whether or not to give permission. Parameters are set in advance of each planned strike to minimise the risk of collateral damage. UK aircrews always operate in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, the Law of Armed Conflict and under strict Rules of Engagement. Our pilots can - and do - decide, right up to the last minute, NOT to strike if they have any reason to believe there is a risk of causing civilian casualties.There is no evidence from the operations so far - either from our own detailed assessments which take place after every strike, or from the information provided to us by third parties - that any RAF airstrikes have caused civilian casualties.

Syria: Military Intervention

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will make an assessment of the accuracy of reports by Amnesty International that white phosphorus has been used by US-led forces in Syria.

Mark Lancaster: The UK has not used White Phosphorous in Syria. In accordance with the law of armed conflict, white phosphorus rounds are used for screening, obscuring, and marking in a way that fully considers the possible incidental effects on civilians and civilian structures. The Coalition takes all reasonable precautions to minimize the risk of incidental injury to non-combatants and damage to civilian structures.

Syria: Military Intervention

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK has changed its targeting practices and widened its rules of engagement in Syria.

Mark Lancaster: In order to maintain operational and personnel security, we do not comment on rules of engagement or on UK targeting procedures.

Syria: Military Intervention

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to support humanitarian planning to ensure that civilians are protected and are offered safe routes to voluntarily evacuate during the military offensive to capture Raqqa.

Mark Lancaster: The protection of civilians is a priority for the UK, and we will continue to work closely with the US and other partners to that end. We have provided significant support to humanitarian planning for Raqqah operations. This has included involvement in the Coalition's civil-military planning process and detailed engagement with the UN and agencies.Arranging the safe passage of civilians to areas of safety hinges entirely on the goodwill of parties to the conflict. UK aid does not currently go to Daesh-held areas because Daesh are blocking humanitarian access. In areas of the Raqqah Governorate liberated from Daesh, DFID-funded partners are supporting the displaced with food, shelter, healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene assistance.

Defence: Procurement

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether pipeline data has been made available to UK steel producers to ensure that UK defence steel requirements can be met by British steel producers; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: This Government is committed to creating the right conditions in the UK for a competitive and sustainable steel industry. In December 2016 the Government published its future pipeline for steel requirements, indicating the quantities of steel expected to be required for major projects, including defence. This will enable UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for Government contracts.Updated policy guidance on Government steel procurement was also published, which the Ministry of Defence has adopted, which encourages the public sector to take full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting procurement activities.The pipeline, together with the updated procurement policy, is published on gov.uk at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-1116-procuring-steel-in-major-projects-revised-guidance.

Armed Forces Covenant

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's policy is on those who have served in HM forces and wish to buy a council or housing association property under the terms of the Military Covenant.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Policy on the right to buy socially-held accommodation is a matter for the relevant housing authorities and is not covered under the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant. The Covenant's primary role is to remove the disadvantages that our Serving personnel, veterans and families may face as a result of their Service and to offer them a fair deal in comparison with all other British citizens. The available evidence does not suggest that veterans have greater challenges in finding accommodation than any other citizen.We support our Armed Forces to get on the housing ladder and get a good job when they leave, through our resettlement programmes, Help to Buy Schemes and Career Transition Partnerships, and the vast majority transition well to civilian life.However a small number may struggle and we work very closely with local authorities and the Devolved Administrations to ensure that the help they need is available to them. Initiatives such as ensuring fair access to social housing, Help to Buy schemes, and support through organisations such as the Riverside English Churches Housing Group, and Veterans' Hubs exist to address the range of housing needs of veterans and their families.

Defence: Expenditure

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all members of NATO spend at least two per cent of their gross domestic product on defence.

Mark Lancaster: Government Ministers and officials regularly discuss the Defence Investment Pledge (DIP) with NATO Allies. The DIP was a key outcome of the NATO summit in Wales in 2014 at which Allies agreed to spend two per cent of GDP on Defence by 2024. Progress against this target has been made but there is more to do. Defence spending by European Allies is increasing, and all Allies have agreed to commit to putting the DIP into national plans by the end of 2017. The UK already meets the DIP target, will continue to do so for the rest of this decade, and will increase Defence spending by 0.5 per cent above inflation every year until 2021.

Armed Forces: Cadets

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve safeguarding of children in the Cadet Forces and (b) support victims of past abuse in those forces.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of accusations of abuse towards children in the Cadet Forces; and how many have led to successful prosecution in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has robust procedures in place to protect cadets. This includes ensuring that all adults who work with children are required to undergo mandatory security and background checks, are subject to rigorous disclosure procedures and receive regular safeguarding training. We encourage anyone who has been a victim, or knows someone who has, to report it to the police. The cadet organisations have comprehensive reporting procedures in place to ensure that when they are made aware of an incident it is acted upon immediately; any allegation involving possible criminal activity is reported to the appropriate authorities for investigation. Background checks are undertaken for all Adult volunteers and unlike many other youth organisations, the checks are redone or updated every five years. Whilst each Cadet Headquarters has safeguarding expertise and can provide advice, victims of past abuse are directed to the various professional organisations e.g. the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, who specialise in this type of support. In the period 2012 – June 2017, 363 abuse allegations were made to the MOD of which 282 were referred to the police. Information on the number of prosecutions would be held by the relevant individual police forces. The MOD does not hold this detail.

Warships: Shipbuilding

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the UK-Australia Defence Co-operation Treaty and Australia-UK MOU on Military Capability Harmonisation and Equipment Cooperation (AUMICE), what representations his Department has made to the Australian Government on the UK's shipbuilding industry's capabilities.

Harriett Baldwin: Ministry of Defence officials have regular discussions with their Australian colleagues on many aspects of military capability and equipment collaboration, including the capabilities of our respective shipbuilding industries.

Mediterranean Sea: Refugees

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Libyan Coastguard personnel have participated in training provided by armed forces personnel as part of the UK's support to Operation Sophia in the last two years.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate the cost of training Libyan Coastguard personnel as part of the UK's support to Operation Sophia.

Mark Lancaster: The training of the Libyan Navy Coastguard in basic seamanship skills makes up a small proportion of the Op SOPHIA Activity. The UK specifically have trained 18 Libyan Navy Coastguard. This took place between 16 October to 28 November 2016.The overall net additional cost was £35,000.More Libyan Naval Coastguard training is planned for later in 2017.

Australia: Navy

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his Australian counterpart on the Royal Australian Navy Future Frigate requirement.

Harriett Baldwin: My Ministerial colleagues and I hold regular and frequent discussions with our Australian counterparts. Amongst other matters, we have discussed a variety of capability co-operation subjects, including the Royal Australian Navy's Future Frigate requirement.

Army

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the shortfall in manpower is of the 77th Brigade.

Mark Lancaster: The Regular element of 77 Brigade is 93% manned and the Reserve element is currently at 53%. The Reserve element is expected to reach full manning as the Brigade reaches its planned full operating capability in 2019. Current manning levels are shown in the following table. 77 Brigade EstablishmentStrengthRegular (Including Full Time Reserve Service and Non regular Permanent Staff)203189Reserves266142

Armed Forces: Housing

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he had with contractors on their delivery of service accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Fiona Onasanya).

Navy

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to expand the Royal Navy.

Mark Lancaster: The Royal Navy is growing for the first time in a generation. The first of two new aircraft carriers, HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, is at sea conducting trials. There will be new submarines; frigates – we have placed the contract for the first three Type 26s; aircraft; patrol vessels; support ships and tankers. We will increase Naval personnel numbers by 400 to 30,600 by 2025.

Type 26 Frigates

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on agreeing a contract for the Type 26 frigate.

Sir Michael Fallon: On 2 July, I announced the signature of a contract with BAE Systems worth around £3.7 billion to start the manufacture of the first batch of three Type 26 Frigates with the first steel to be cut later this month. This is an excellent deal for the taxpayer and a momentous commitment for Scotland that will strengthen and secure our shipbuilding industry on the Clyde for the future.

Nuclear Disarmament

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on his Department's policies of the draft treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons published by the UN in May 2017.

Sir Michael Fallon: The UK has not taken part in negotiation of this treaty, and does not intend to sign, ratify or become party to it. It will not be binding on the UK. The UK does not accept that this treaty can constitute a development of customary international law binding on the UK or other non-parties. The UK continues to pursue step by step nuclear disarmament consistent with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Armed Forces Covenant

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to strengthen the Armed Forces Covenant.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Telford (Lucy Allan).

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on bringing the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers into service.

Harriett Baldwin: HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH sailed from Rosyth on 26 June to commence contractor sea trials off the north-east coast of Scotland. HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH is by far the most powerful warship ever built in Britain enabling us to tackle changing threats around the globe.

Armed Forces: Pay

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Armed Forces Pay Review Body on levels of pay for the armed forces.

Sir Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Weaver Vale (Mike Amesbury).

Department for Communities and Local Government

Rented Housing: Fire Hazards

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit the use of polystyrene ceiling tiles in rented accommodation.

Alok Sharma: Under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, older polystyrene ceiling tiles that are identified in rented accommodation inspections as being a fire risk, can be subject to an Improvement Notice served by the Local Authority, requiring their removal. Failure to comply with an improvement Notice is a criminal offence, for which local authorities can impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecute in the courts which have the power to impose an unlimited fine.Unmodified polystyrene ceiling tiles do not comply with Building Regulations guidance , and so any new build home or other building should not be using them.

Insulation: Testing

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what tests the Building Research Establishment is carrying out on cladding samples sent for analysis after the Grenfell Tower fire.

Alok Sharma: A note explaining the government building safety programme, including an explanation of the methodology being used by the Building Research Establishment to test samples of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) panels, has been published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

High Rise Flats: Repairs and Maintenance

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding is being put in place to support local authorities and social housing landlords repairing high-rise blocks as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Alok Sharma: Where Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding is present on residential buildings over 18 metres in height, the Government is providing testing for local authorities and housing associations free of charge. If the screening tests indicate that such cladding would not meet the limited combustibility requirements of the current Building Regulations guidance, it is for landlords in consultation with the fire and rescue service and other experts to determine, and take, the best course of action, communicating closely with residents. My Department has issued advice on the interim mitigating measures landlords should implement. Cost considerations must not get in the way of making sure that residents are safe. Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of a building, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent them going ahead.

Fire Prevention: Manchester City Council

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding and other support his Department has offered to Manchester City Council to carry out fire safety checks on high-rise buildings.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Devolution: South West

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on devolution for Devon and Somerset.

Jake Berry: The Government is committed to working with places to generate growth and jobs. This is not a one-size-fits-all process; for example, mayoral governance may be appropriate for cities but not rural counties. We will continue to work with Devon and Somerset to ensure they have the tools to drive growth.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people who lost their homes as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire have yet to receive any discretionary payments from the Grenfell Tower Residents' Discretionary Fund.

Alok Sharma: As of noon on Wednesday 5 July 2017, 117 households who have permanently lost their homes as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire had received one or more payments from the Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund. The Council has made contact with a further 8 households understood to have lost their homes, and is proactively working to seek out and contact any remaining households that are yet to come forward through the key workers team.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people who lost their homes as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire have yet to be given (a) temporary and (b) permanent accommodation.

Alok Sharma: 158 families from Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk have been identified in need of temporary housing. Offers of appropriate and good quality temporary accommodation have been made to all 139 households who are ready and able to talk to the housing team. As of 5 July, 14 offers of temporary accommodation have been accepted, and 3 families have already moved in. We have already announced a new block of social housing in Kensington Row that will very shortly provide 68 new permanent homes, and we are urgently working with a number of developers to secure similar properties in the same area.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter of 28 March 2013 from Judge Kirkham to the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the conclusion of the Lakanal House fire inquest, what progress his Department has made in supporting the implementation of each of the Coroners' recommendations as set out in that letter.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that emergency guidance in high rise blocks is available in a variety of languages to cater for the diversity of the residents in those blocks.

Alok Sharma: All residents should understand the emergency fire safety guidance in their buildings. It is for local authorities and other housing providers to ensure that this is the case.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many residents who lost their home as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire have not received an offer of housing.

Alok Sharma: Every family that is ready to talk to the housing team has been offered a temporary home. As of 5 July, 139 families have received offers of accommodation. 19 families have not yet been ready to engage in this process, and we need to respect that and go at the pace that they want to. The housing team will continue to work with all families to ensure that their individual needs are met.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on ensuring that the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire of 17 June 2017 are rehoused nearby within three weeks.

Alok Sharma: The Government committed to make an offer of temporary housing to all those who have lost their homes as a result of the fire, within three weeks. All 139 of the families who are ready to talk to the housing team have already been matched with and offered a quality, appropriate temporary home. All these homes are local - either in Kensington and Chelsea or a neighbouring borough.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of removing and reapplying cladding from tower blocks that have failed safety checks on the housing reserves of social landlords that acquired those tower blocks through stock transfer.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fire Prevention

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much financial support his Department will provide to local authorities for assessing the fire safety of insulation.

Alok Sharma: The tests currently being carried out are focussed on the combustibility of material in cladding made from Aluminium Composite Material. Where those materials have failed that test, housing providers have had instructions to review all fire safety arrangements in the relevant property, and to check insulation and other materials in the wall construction. Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

High Rise Flats: Databases

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has a central database of all residential tower blocks, including information by (a) type of tower block owner, (b) local authority and (c) constituency.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fire Prevention: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding is available to (a) local authorities, (b) arms-length management organisations, (c) social landlords whose properties have been acquired through stock transfer and (d) private landlords for the (i) removal of cladding that has failed safety tests and (ii) reapplication of new cladding.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Letting Agents: Fees and Charges

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the merits of ensuring that legislation on letting agent fees will include provisions to prevent landlords from passing on any increases in their costs to tenants via higher rents.

Alok Sharma: The Government recently announced in the Queen’s Speech its intention to publish a draft bill to ban letting fees paid by tenants in England. A ban will mean that tenants are better able to search around for properties that suit their budget with no hidden costs. This is preferable to tenants being hit with upfront charges that can be difficult for them to afford. The approach taken in the draft bill will be informed by the recent public consultation, which closed on 2 June and received over 4,700 responses. These responses are being analysed. The Government will publish its response to the consultation in due course and further information on the draft bill will follow.

Right to Buy Scheme: Housing Associations

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the Government's policy is on implementing a right to buy scheme for tenants of housing association properties in England.

Alok Sharma: We are currently considering the extension of Right to Buy discounts across England to housing association tenants, and will announce more details in due course.

Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council: Redundancy Pay

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has been consulted on the value of the exit payment for the Chief Executive of the Council of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea after his resignation in June 2017.

Alok Sharma: Pay, alongside other terms and conditions, remains a matter for local authorities to manage as individual employers and locally elected bodies.Ministers have been very clear that authorities should be demonstrating restraint in the pay and reward of senior staff. In addition, the government has taken steps to increase the transparency and accountability of local decisions on pay.

Social Rented Housing: Insulation

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his oral contribution of 3 July 2017, Official Report, column 924, on guidance to local authorities and housing associations, what specific guidance has been given in respect of insulation.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fire Prevention

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of re-cladding on the combustibility of insulation.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fire Prevention

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of re-cladding on the effectiveness of fire breaks.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will list the tower blocks which have been assessed for fire safety since the Grenfell Tower fire and deemed (a) safe and (b) unsafe because (i) the cladding has failed the combustibility test his Department has commissioned and (ii) for other reasons.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what additional Government funding is required to make 68 units in the Kensington Row development available to Grenfell Tower survivors at social rent; and whether that funding will be allocated from HM Treasury or from existing departmental allocations.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

A34: Oxfordshire

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to make a decision on funding for the A34 Lodge Hill scheme.

Jake Berry: The business case to fund the A34 Lodge Hill scheme is proceeding through the Department for Communities and Local Government as we would expect, and we intend to make a decision in due course.

Homelessness

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of homeless people in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK.

Mr Marcus Jones: DCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping, statutory homelessness and homelessness prevention and relief. These are published at a local authority level. The latest statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.The Government remains committed to combating homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why we are aiming to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027. To achieve this, we will set up a new Homelessness Reduction Taskforce that will focus on prevention and affordable housing, and we will pilot a Housing First approach to tackle rough sleeping.We also supported the Homelessness Reduction Act which received Royal Assent on 27 April 2017. The Act significantly reforms England’s homelessness legislation, ensuring that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.

Scotland Office

Local Growth Deals: Scotland

John Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what progress the Government has made on the delivery of the borderlands Growth Deal.

David Mundell: Building on the city and growth deals we have signed across Scotland, we will bring forward a Borderlands Growth Deal to secure economic improvements for the people who live and work in our Borderlands region. The Scotland Office will work with the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Scottish Government, and Local Authorities on both sides of the border to identify proposals that will best support the economy of the region, and we look forward to hearing local partners’ ambitions for the area as work progresses.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what his priority list of countries with which the UK can negotiate trade deals within the first five years of leaving the EU is.

Greg Hands: As the Prime Minister has said, we want to build a truly Global Britain that is one of the firmest advocates for free trade anywhere in the world. We are considering our future trading relationships with all of our partners as we prepare to leave the EU.

Trade Agreements

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how long he expects it will take to negotiate trade deals with all the countries with which the UK currently has trade deals through the UK's EU customs union membership.

Greg Hands: The UK Government is committed to seeking continuity in its current trade and investment relationships, including those covered by EU Free Trade Agreements or other EU preferential arrangements, as we leave the EU.The UK Government is currently undertaking a broad range of work including discussions with our trading partners, and remains committed to ensuring continuity for businesses.

Women and Equalities

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to her letter of 29 June 2017 on funding for abortions for Northern Irish women in England, whether organisations which are not registered as pregnancy advice bureaux will be eligible to receive funding.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to her letter of 29 June 2017 on funding for abortions for Northern Irish women in England, when the Government plans to make this service available.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to her letter of 29 June 2017 on funding for abortions for Northern Irish women in England, whether the Government also intends to fund the costs of (a) private consultations in Northern Ireland, (b) travel and (c) accommodation for women who wish to access these services.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to her letter of 29 June 2017 on funding for abortions for Northern Irish women in England, how she plans to advertise the availability of such services in England.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to her letter of 29 June 2017 on funding for abortions for Northern Irish women in England, whether for women with complex medical needs that funding can be used to access NHS services.

Anne Milton: We are currently discussing with key stakeholders about the details of the scheme. Further information will be available in due course.

Department for Transport

Transport

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to increase the capacity of local authorities to produce business cases for major transport projects.

Jesse Norman: As highlighted in the new Transport Investment Strategy, the Department for Transport, where appropriate, will offer targeted support to local authorities to help develop their bidding and delivery capability thus ensuring all areas of the country have the potential to produce high quality business cases to realise the benefits that strong transport projects will unlock. The Department is also funding Local Authorities’ business case development costs for selected schemes within the Large Local Major schemes programme. In addition the Department has provided capacity support to Local Enterprise Partnerships and Local Authorities through the Transport Delivery Excellence Programme in collaboration with the Local Enterprise Partnership Network.

Railway Stations: Finance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce the next round of the New Stations Fund scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: Assessment of the New Stations Fund bids is now complete and I hope to announce the successful projects shortly.

SS Gairsoppa: Salvage

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total underpayment is to the Government by Odyssey Marine Exploration under the terms of the salvage contract issued for SS Gairsoppa.

Mr John Hayes: The question as to whether or not Odyssey Marine Exploration underpaid funds due to the Government under the contract, which was awarded in January 2010, is disputed by the parties, and would accordingly need to be the subject of legal proceedings in the United Kingdom and possibly also in the United States of America to resolve. The issue is being kept under review.

SS Gairsoppa: Salvage

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has Odyssey Marine Exploration paid to the Government under its contract to salvage the cargo of silver from SS Gairsoppa.

Mr John Hayes: Odyssey Marine Exploration paid £6,154,266 to the UK Government under its contract, awarded in January 2010, to salvage the cargo of silver from SS Gairsoppa.

SS Gairsoppa: Salvage

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost to the Government is of the execution of the contract, including all legal costs incurred, payments to third parties in settlement of legal challenges and the underpayment of fees due by Odyssey Marine Exploration of the salvage contract for SS Gairsoppa.

Mr John Hayes: One unsuccessful bidder made a claim against the Department concerning the procurement for the original contract. The department entered into an out of court settlement for £16 million including costs. The legal costs incurred by the Government in relation to this litigation total £167,929.70. This figure includes VAT where payable (for example on Counsel’s fees) and disbursements. Time spent by Government advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributable to individual cases. The question as to whether or not Odyssey Marine Exploration underpaid funds due to the Government under the contract, which was awarded in January 2010, is disputed by the parties, and would accordingly need to be the subject of legal proceedings in the United Kingdom and possibly also in the United States of America to resolve. The issue is being kept under review.

SS Gairsoppa: Salvage

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons no recovery of underpayment of funds due to the Government from Odyssey Marine Exploration under the contract to Salavage SS Gairsoppa has been obtained.

Mr John Hayes: The question as to whether or not Odyssey Marine Exploration underpaid funds due to the Government under the contract, which was awarded in January 2010, is disputed by the parties, and would accordingly need to be the subject of legal proceedings in the United Kingdom and possibly also in the United States of America to resolve. The issue is being kept under review.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the changes to Network Rail's renewals programme arising from the reduction in the High Output Track Renewals programme and the effect of those on (a) regular maintenance and (b) rail safety.

Paul Maynard: We expect the Office of Rail and Road to have oversight of Network Rail’s renewals programme and to take action as necessary in relation to any consequential issues concerning maintenance or safety.

Shipping: Waste Disposal

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to prevent stop and check discharge clearance of vessels after unloading into the sea.

Mr John Hayes: The discharge of ships’ ballast water into the sea is controlled through the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments. The Government supports this Convention and welcomes its entry into force internationally on 8 September 2017. Work is ongoing in the UK to implement the requirements of the convention through domestic legislation.

Tugboats: Safety

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that all safety measures are adhered to when handling is done by tugs.

Mr John Hayes: Tugs supporting port operations must comply with all relevant national and international safety standards supported by industry safety guidelines. Tugs will be regularly inspected as part of the UK’s ship inspection regimes, including those operated by ports complying with the Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC).

Commissioners of Irish Lights

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to continue UK financial contributions to the Commissioners of Irish Lights for maintenance of lighthouses and other navigational aids in the waters around Northern Ireland if the UK leaves the London convention after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: We have no plans to change the current financing arrangements for Irish Lights once the UK leaves the European Union or as a result of any decision on the London Convention.

Commissioners of Irish Lights

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Commissioners of Irish Lights will remain responsible for lighthouses and other marine navigational aids in and in waters around Northern Ireland when the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: The Commissioners of Irish Lights have responsibility for aids to navigation for the whole of the island of Ireland and are accountable to the UK Department for Transport for their operations in UK waters. No change to this arrangement is envisaged when the UK leaves the European Union.

East Coast Railway Line: Franchises

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Stagecoach Group PLC's press release dated 28 June 2017, preliminary results for the year ended 30 April 2017, what assessment he has made of the effect of Network Rails' reprioritised infrastructure programme on the finances of the InterCity East Coast franchise.

Paul Maynard: Delivery dates for certain planned enhancements to the East Coast Mainline are due after the end of Control Period 5 (2019). If this affects Virgin Train East Coast’s track access rights beyond 2019, this may lead to financial impacts on the franchise. We regularly update our forecasts of franchise finances as part of our management processes.

Southern: Standards

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to his Department was of the Gibb Report, published on 22 June 2017 (a) in total, (b) on staffing and (c) on externally commissioned work.

Paul Maynard: The independent Gibb report cost £130,800 to complete. Staff costs and externally commissioned work were not itemised. Chris Gibb reported directly to the Secretary of State for Transport, and delivered his report on 30 December 2016.

Bus Services: North East

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government plans to take to encourage integration of bus services in the North East.

Jesse Norman: The Bus Services Act 2017 contains comprehensive powers to enable local transport authorities and bus operators to work together in partnership to improve integration, not only of the local bus network but also between bus services and other modes of transport such as light and heavy rail. The Act also allows combined mayoral authorities to apply for new franchising powers. Other authorities can also apply for franchising powers with approval from the Secretary of State, subject to the necessary regulations having been made under the new section 123A(4) of Part 2 of the Transport Act 2000.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Stafford

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many houses in Stafford constituency have been purchased by (a) the High Speed 2 Exceptional Hardship Scheme and (b) other schemes since each such scheme was launched; and what the average cost is of each such purchase.

Paul Maynard: The number and average value of houses purchased in the Stafford constituency broken down by HS2 scheme is as follows SchemeNumber of homes purchasedAverage value of purchaseExceptional Hardship Scheme (Note 1)15£404,147Need to Sell3£277,167Statutory Blight3£606,667 Note 1 - In May 2016 the Exceptional Hardship Scheme was withdrawn for the Phase 2a section of HS2 when the Need to Sell scheme was confirmed for this part of the route.

Tyne and Wear Metro: Trains

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce a decision on the delivery of a new train fleet for the Tyne and Wear Metro.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport (DFT) is currently in discussions with Nexus regarding their proposals for new rolling stock on the Metro, including exploring various funding options.

Aviation: EU Countries

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2017 to Question 1331, whether bilateral air services arrangements with all EU member states will still apply in the event that the UK leaves the EU air travel regime.

Mr John Hayes: The nature of the UK’s future air services relationship with the EU and Member States will be determined through the UK’s negotiations for an orderly exit from the EU.

Tyne and Wear Metro: Trains

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions the Government has had with the North East Combined Authority on the delivery of a new train fleet for the Tyne and Wear Metro.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport is currently in discussions with Nexus regarding their proposals for new rolling stock on the Metro, including exploring various funding options.

Bus Services: Combined Authorities

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to relax or amend the regulations relating to the introduction of bus franchising by non-mayoral combined authorities.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government plans to take to support the introduction of bus franchising in non-mayoral combined authorities.

Jesse Norman: The Bus Services Act 2017 permits combined mayoral authorities to apply for new franchising powers. Other authorities can also apply for franchising powers with approval from the Secretary of State, subject to the necessary regulations having been made under the new section 123A(4) of Part 2 of the Transport Act 2000. No such regulations have yet been made.The Government wants to see better local bus services for passengers across the country and will assist any local authority seeking to use the powers available to them under the Bus Services Act 2017 to secure improvements. We would also encourage authorities to work closely with local bus operators and passenger representatives to determine how to use the Act’s new powers to serve their local communities better.

Roads: Greater London

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Transport Investment Strategy published on 5 July 2017, whether the strategy includes improvements to roads in London; and what assessment he has made of the proportion of funding delivered through the strategy that will be allocated to roads that are the responsibility of (a) Transport for London, (b) London boroughs and (c) the London Borough of Barnet.

Jesse Norman: The new Transport Investment Strategy covers the whole of Britain, including London. No assessment regarding the allocation of any new funding under it has been reached since publication.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

British Indian Ocean Territory: Employment

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what employment laws are currently in force in the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Sir Alan Duncan: The British Indian Ocean Territory's Employment Ordinance No.7 of 1984 covers various aspects of employment on BIOT and is available in the House of business library.

British Indian Ocean Territory: UN Resolutions

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 58, UN Vote on Chagos Islands.

Sir Alan Duncan: I refer to my Written Ministerial Statement on the British Indian Ocean Territory (HCWS10) of 26 June 2017.

Ilois: Compensation

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much of the £40 million Chagossian assistance package, announced by the Government on 16 November 2016, has been distributed to the Chagossian community by each Government Department.

Sir Alan Duncan: As the package covers the next ten years, the Government is taking the time necessary to carry out scoping studies and discuss ideas with Chagossian communities in the UK and overseas in order to develop cost-effective programmes which will make the biggest improvement to the lives of those Chagossians who need it most. Accordingly, we are yet to begin disbursing funding from the support package to the Chagossian community, and it is too early to confirm how funds from the package will be allocated across the UK.

Ilois: Compensation

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the £40 million compensation package for the exiled Chagos Islands community will be allocated (a) in Crawley constituency and (b) across the UK.

Sir Alan Duncan: As the Government made clear in the Written Ministerial Statement of 16 November, the support package is not compensation. The Government is taking the time necessary to carry out scoping studies and discuss ideas with Chagossian communities in the UK and overseas in order to develop cost-effective programmes which will make the biggest improvement to the lives of those Chagossians who need it most. Accordingly, we are yet to begin disbursing funding from the support package to the Chagossian community. It is too early to confirm how funds from the package will be allocated across the UK over the next ten years.

Sweden: Joint Exercises

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from his Swedish counterpart on the UK's participation in the Swedish Armed Forces Aurora 17 military exercise.

Sir Alan Duncan: No representations have been received regarding participation in the Swedish Armed Forces Aurora 17 military exercise.

USA: Scholarships

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the US Administration on (a) the benefits of the Fulbright Scholarship programme to UK-US relations and (b) the level of funding required for that programme in the next five years.

Sir Alan Duncan: Our officials are in contact with representatives from the Fulbright Commission. Decisions on the State Department budget are ultimately a matter for the US administration and Congress.

Hong Kong: Visits Abroad

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the new Minister for Asia plans to visit Hong Kong during the current Parliamentary session.

Mark Field: Ministerial visits are under constant review. The British Consulate General in Hong Kong continues to support and represent UK interests there.

British Overseas Territories: Biodiversity and Climate Change

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of climate change on Overseas Territories; and what measures are being put in place to protect biodiversity in Overseas Territories.

Sir Alan Duncan: In 2015, the Department For International Development commissioned an assessment of climate change and its likely impact on many of the Overseas Territories. The report is available on the gov.uk website. Separate work is underway with those territory governments not covered by this report, to ensure measures are in place.To assist our Overseas Territories (OT) to protect their biodiversity, financial support is provided by the Government, through the Darwin Plus initiative and the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF). Darwin Plus helps UK Overseas Territories to protect their biodiversity and meet their international obligations under key biodiversity conventions. To date, 70 Darwin Plus projects, with a total value of £10.9 million, have been funded.Through the CSSF the Government has provided £2.02m to assist the OTs in embedding natural capital considerations into decision-making and planning; £1m to support Territories in improving their biosecurity; £1.75m to support the work led by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to tackle invasive species in and restore Gough Island; and £4.8m during the current financial year to support the development and implementation of a blue belt of marine protected areas around the OTs.

Hong Kong: Visits Abroad

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to visit Hong Kong during this parliamentary session.

Mark Field: ​Ministerial visits are under constant review. The British Consulate General in Hong Kong continues to support and represent UK interests there.

Ethiopia: Foreign Relations

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he or the Minister for Africa has to meet Workneh Gebeyehu, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister.

Rory Stewart: ​The Foreign Secretary speaks regularly to Ethiopian Foreign Minister Workneh. He met him and the Ethiopian Prime Minister most recently during their visit to London on 11 May. I will be meeting key counterparts shortly and hope to travel to Ethiopia soon.

Ethiopia: Visits Abroad

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he or the Minister for Africa plan to visit the (a) African Union in Addis Ababa and (b) Ethiopian Government.

Rory Stewart: ​The Foreign Secretary met with the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson and other AUC representatives in May during the London Somalia Conference. He also visited Ethiopia in March and met with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. I will engage in due course with all key counterparts and plan to travel to Ethiopia soon.

Russia: Ukraine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met representatives of the Russian Government to discuss the ongoing conflicts in eastern Ukraine.

Sir Alan Duncan: I raised the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov in London on 10 March. The Foreign Secretary also raised the UK's concerns about the conflict in Ukraine with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers in February this year. UK officials continue to raise our concerns through political and military channels with representatives of the Russian Government.

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to ensure that pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong who are on trial or facing disqualification from taking their seats in the Legislative Council receive a fair trial and that the rule of law is upheld.

Mark Field: In November 2016 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office expressed concern at the National People's Congress Standing Committee's decision to express its interpretation of the Basic Law before conclusion of related legal proceedings in Hong Kong. The cases referred to are a matter for the Hong Kong Courts. We believe that the rule of its law remains robust overall thanks in part to its world class independent judiciary.

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implementation of the one-country-two-systems principle in Hong Kong.

Mark Field: ​The Foreign Secretary, issued a Written Ministerial Statement on 29 June to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statements/) which outlined our assessment of the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, as well as referencing specific concerns over its implementation. The UK believes that it is vital for Hong Kong's continued success that the Special Administrative Region's high degree of autonomy and rule of law are preserved and that the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems' is fully upheld.

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the principles of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law are upheld in Hong Kong.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to reassure the people of Hong Kong that the Government remains fully committed to the Sino-British Joint Declaration and will continue to monitor the commitment to that Declaration by the Government of China.

Mark Field: I held a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador on 5 July in which he made clear that the UK Government did not accept the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson's position that the Joint Declaration was an historical document of no practical significance. I stressed that on this basis, as a guarantor of the Joint Declaration, the UK Government regarded it as legitimate to continue to issue a six-monthly report to Parliament on Hong Kong affairs.The Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Beijing also raised HMG concerns with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 5 July stressing that the Joint Declaration is a legally binding treaty, registered with the UN. As a co-signatory, the UK Government is committed to monitoring its implementation closely.To mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Foreign Secretary issued a Written Ministerial Statement to the House on 29 June (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statements/).The UK will continue to make clear that Hong Kong's success and stability depend on its high degree of autonomy, independent judiciary and respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.

Embassies: Flags

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK embassies and posts plan to display the rainbow flag during local Pride celebrations in 2017-18.

Sir Alan Duncan: UK Missions overseas are not required to inform the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in advance of how they intend to mark local Pride events. All Missions may fly the rainbow flag where this is possible and the Head of Mission considers it appropriate in local circumstances.

Embassies: Civil Partnerships and Marriage

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) civil partnerships and (b) gay civil weddings were celebrated in UK embassies and posts in the last year.

Rory Stewart: UK Diplomatic Missions celebrated 6 civil partnerships and 202 same sex marriages between 1 July 2016 and 6 July 2017.

Embassies: Civil Partnerships and Marriage

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which UK embassies and posts (a) civil partnerships and (b) gay civil weddings were celebrated in the last year.

Rory Stewart: Between 1 July 2016 and 6 July 2017 civil partnerships and same sex marriages were celebrated at UK Diplomatic Missions in Australia, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Germany, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Philippines, Serbia, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Department for International Development

East Africa: Overseas Aid

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has made available to (a) Sudan and (b) South Sudan for the latest year for which figures are available.

Rory Stewart: In the 2016/17 financial year, the UK provided £168 million of aid to South Sudan and £61 million to Sudan through DFID’s bilateral programme.

Yemen: Cholera

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support the Government is providing to help tackle cholera outbreaks in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The current cholera outbreak in Yemen has been declared by the UN as the worst in the world. Since the start of the outbreak in April, over 250,000 cholera cases have been recorded with more than 1,600 deaths. Children make up 46% of the cases, which are still increasing at a rate of 6,500 a day.In response, the UK has increased our funding for Yemen to £139 million for 2017/18. This includes support to tackle the underlying causes of cholera by helping provide emergency food, nutrition, health, water and sanitation, as well as supporting cholera prevention and providing medical supplies and treatment for those affected. In addition, the UK is helping to fund one million lifesaving cholera vaccines through GAVI, the Global Vaccine Alliance.The UK is the second largest donor to the UN’s Yemen appeal, and continues active lobbying for a political solution as well for others in the international community to step up co-ordinated action and funding.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government representative at the G20 Summit in July 2017 plans to raise the relationship between clean water and sanitation in schools and educational outcomes.

Alistair Burt: The Government did not raise the relationship between clean water and sanitation in schools and educational outcomes as the issue was not on the G20 agenda this year. My department fully supports addressing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene issues in conjunction with other human development services. In particular, water and sanitation facilities and hygiene promotion and education are crucial for all institutions such as schools, clinics and hospitals.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all UK-supported schools have access to water and sanitation.

Alistair Burt: Our education programmes encourage the adoption of integrated school improvement plans, which include clean water and sanitation as essential elements to prevent disease, promote hygienic practice and enable access to education.Girls may be particularly disadvantaged when adequate WASH facilities are not available; in addition in some circumstances the availability of water can boost incentives for regular school attendance. The Girls' Education Challenge include activities to improve access to water and sanitation, such as building toilets, providing sanitary towels and working with the local government to reinforce sanitary guidelines. Each project identifies the key barriers to girls attending school and learning - in the very challenging contexts in which projects operate this often includes access to clean water. Projects generally work with communities to ensure WASH facilities are in place and well-maintained, robust monitoring system ensure that plans are implemented and represent good value for money.In Sierra Leone, we have supported 839 primary schools to receive the water and toilet facilities they need during the post-Ebola recover phase. We intend to provide an additional 190 schools with water points and toilets; as a result an additional 40,000 children will have access to safe water and sanitation.We finance the UNICEF implemented programme to Accelerate Sanitation and Water for All in 9 Neglected Off-Track Countries, which has reached 1221 schools and created an improved learning environment for an estimated 750,000 school children. A 2nd phase of this programme is anticipated to reach 1000 more schools, where the need is most acute.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the relationship between clean water and sanitation in schools and school attendance in developing countries.

Alistair Burt: There is limited evidence on the relationship between clean water and sanitation in schools and school attendance. A systematic review funded by DFID in 2011 found insufficient evidence to demonstrate this link. A more recent review (2015) found that hand hygiene measures might decrease absence and improve health. One trial, relating only to Kenya, found that provision of hygiene promotion, water treatment and sanitation reduced girls’ absenteeism from school by 58% in some study areas. We do know from experience through our programmes that water and clean, sex-specific toilets can be important factors in school attendance, particularly for adolescent girls. We are therefore funding significant research through SHARE (a consortium led by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) into ways of maximising the impacts of water, sanitation and hygiene investments on health and school attendance.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that water, sanitation and hygiene services are integrated into all her Department's education programmes and strategies.

Alistair Burt: DFID fully endorse an integrated WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) approach with other human development services such as education and health, as part of a holistic approach. Water and sanitation facilities and hygiene promotion and education are crucial for all institutions such as schools, clinics and hospitals.We support developing country governments, in particular through the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to develop, implement and finance education sector development plans that incorporate WASH into school infrastructure, supplies, teacher development and curriculum requirements. These plans are systematically monitored, including on data related to the provision of WASH at schools.We continue to fund significant research through a consortium led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on how to maximise the impacts of WASH investments on school attendance and on health. As part of an ongoing refresh of DFID’s education policy, we will review evidence and the application of best practice on how we can more closely integrate education, WASH and other essential social services.

Department for Education

Digital Technology: Lifelong Education

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on lifelong learning in digital skills.

Anne Milton: The government wants people aged 19 and over in England, who lack core digital skills, to be able to access specified basic digital skills training free of charge, where it is made available by providers as part of publicly funded adult education.This will enable adults to secure the basic digital skills they need to operate effectively in day-to-day life.

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on the ability of working parents to access services of the difference in opening hours and term dates between maintained and non-maintained childcare and early education providers.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We encourage all providers to offer childcare that works for everyone. Many providers that cannot or do not want to run provision from 8.00 a.m. until 6.00 p.m. throughout the year work in partnership to make this kind of offer available to parents. We have supported this approach, for example by publishing practical advice on working in partnership, and by allowing childminders to spend up to half of their time working on non-domestic premises. In addition, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure sufficient childcare for working parents for children aged 0-14 (or up to 18 for disabled children). They should report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting this statutory duty, and make this report available to parents. Local authorities must also maintain a service that provides information to parents and prospective parents on the provision of childcare in their area, and, from 1 September 2017, publish this information on the local authority’s website and update it at least termly.

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the apprenticeship levy on the budgets of non-maintained childcare and early education providers.

Anne Milton: The Apprenticeship Levy will be paid by all UK employers with an annual pay bill of over £3 million and is charged at 0.5% of an employer’s annual pay bill.The Apprenticeship Levy supports our commitment to reaching 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020. Employers in England who pay the levy will have an apprenticeship account. This is an online service that enables levy-paying employers to receive levy funds to spend on apprenticeships, manage their apprentices and pay their training provider.It is for individual employers to calculate the impact of levy payments on their budgets. No employer that pays the levy will lose out if they take advantage of the opportunity to re-invest the money in high quality apprenticeship training. Guidance for employers on paying the levy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pay-apprenticeship-levy.

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of graduate staff who have moved from non-maintained childcare and early education providers to maintained settings in the last three years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but the Department for Education does not record the number of graduate staff who have moved from non-maintained childcare and early education providers to maintained settings.

Students: Loans

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of potential revenue to be raised from the privatisation of the student loans book.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is her policy to privatise the student loan book; and if she will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The process required to sell part of the English student loan book under the Sale of Student Loans Act (2008) was launched in February this year. An update will be provided in due course. A sale on the basis set out in February would not represent a step towards privatisation of the provision or administration of student loans. The position of people with student loans would not be affected as a result of such a sale.The proposed sale comprised the rights to future repayments and would not involve alteration of the mechanisms or terms of repayment. This sale process was the first in a planned programme of sales of loans issued under the previous “pre-2012” system, targeting £12bn of proceeds by the end of the 2020-21 financial year.

Young People: Vocational Guidance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings of the Social Mobility Commission's report, entitled The time for change, published on 28 June 2017, what steps she plans to take to increase careers advice and training opportunities for young people.

Anne Milton: We want to ensure young people have the skills they need to do the well-paid, high-skilled jobs of the future. That is why we are investing money into improving skills provision and giving young people real choice, including an additional £500 million per year investment in England’s technical education system. We want to improve the quality and coverage of careers advice for young people in schools and colleges. We will set out our plans in a comprehensive careers strategy later this year. We set up the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) in 2014 to connect employers with schools and colleges and improve opportunities for young people to learn about work. The CEC has made good progress in delivering its programmes. There are now over 1,700 Enterprise Advisers working with over 1,700 schools and colleges to improve their careers and enterprise strategies and link up with employers.

Apprentices: Age

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 4 of the Social Mobility Commission report Time for Change, published on 28 June 2017, for what reasons more older than younger workers have obtained apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: Tackling social mobility is at the heart of the government’s ambition to make Britain a country that works for everyone. As part of this, we are committed to ensuring that high quality apprenticeships are accessible to people of all ages and from all backgrounds. Apprenticeships are paid jobs with training and can be used to train and upskill existing employees as well as a means of recruiting new staff. It is important that people of all ages and backgrounds are able to achieve the long term benefits associated with completing an apprenticeship in terms of increased wages and career progression. We are providing additional funding to support young people and those from disadvantaged areas to access apprenticeships, recognising where the costs of supporting an apprentice are higher. This includes additional payments for both employers and training providers when they take on 16 to 18 year olds or 19 to 24 year olds who were in care or who have an Education, Health and Care Plan, and cash payments to providers for training individuals from the top 27% of deprived areas. Our ‘Get In Go Far’ campaign aims to inspire more young people to take on an apprenticeship, and more employers to offer them.

Children's Centres: Greater London

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what analysis her Department (a) has made or (b) plans to make of the effect of closures of Sure Start Children's Centres since 2010 on the social mobility of the most disadvantaged children in (i) Enfield North constituency, (ii) the London Borough of Enfield and (iii) London.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Childcare Act 2006 requires local authorities to consult before they make significant changes to their children’s centre provision. Where they decide to close a children’s centre, councils must demonstrate that children and families, particularly the most disadvantaged, will not be adversely affected and that they will not compromise their duty to have sufficient children’s centres to meet local need. Local authorities are best placed to understand local needs and the different ways children and families can be supported locally.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of places that will be available under the 30 hours free childcare scheme from September 2017.

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the likely level of demand for places under the 30 hours free childcare scheme from September 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Childcare Act 2016 places a duty on local authorities to secure free childcare for qualifying children and therefore monitor supply and demand at a local level. We anticipate a high level of demand for 30 hours free childcare. Our twelve early delivery areas have demonstrated that 30 hours is popular with parents and that providers have been positive about offering places to working parents. We are making record investments in the government’s free childcare offer: over £1 billion more per year by 2020. This includes £300 million per year for a significant increase to the hourly rates paid for two, three and four-year-old entitlement. From April 2017, the national average funding rates also increased to £4.94 for three and four-year-olds and £5.39 for two-year-olds. We are also investing £100m in capital funding to create nearly 18,000 additional places for eligible children to help meet demand from hardworking parents. This investment will support even more providers to deliver 30 hours. In addition our national delivery contractor, Childcare Works, are supporting all local authorities to ensure they are ready to deliver the required number of free places in September 2017. Local authorities report that they have benefitted from support with estimating demand and supply in their local areas.

Church Commissioners

Churches: Bats

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Commissioners have had with Church of England representatives on encouraging clergy to install bat boxes to provide alternative accommodation for these mammals.

Dame Caroline Spelman: Bat roosting remains a significant and costly issue for around 100 churches, where large roosts mean constant cleaning, damage to significant artefacts and delays to repair work, all of which reduce the use of the building by the congregation and community. Our experience is that bat boxes are not always the best solution, since there is no guarantee that the bats will use them.The Church of England has recently secured Heritage Lottery funding as part of a partnership led by Natural England for a project to mitigate the impact of bats in churches. This work will include looking at ways that bats can be moved to more suitable locations when the roost has an adverse effect on the congregation. More details of the project can be found at: http://www.batsandchurches.org.uk/

Churches: Camping Sites

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Commissioners have had with Church of England representatives on expanding the availability of champing in England's churches.

Dame Caroline Spelman: ‘Champing’, or overnight camping in a church, is a new form of holiday pioneered by the Churches Conservation Trust. It currently uses only closed churches, 12 of which across the UK are available for visitors to stay the night in, between April and September. The Church of England is however working in partnership with the Churches Conservation Trust to bring the Champing model into operation for open churches, to offer high end accommodation that enables congregations to generate income, whilst also maintaining space for worship and community use.The Church of England has developed a model for a high quality and revisable timber structure, which can be placed in open churches to provide a lettable insulated space, which in turn can generate income needed to maintain the building, thereby releasing money for mission. Designed to support rural parishes this model is being piloted in the Diocese of Hereford thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and AllChurches Trust. More information is at: http://www.champing.co.uk/

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Electronic Warfare: Training

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people have taken part in the Cyber Retraining Academy course.

Matt Hancock: The HMG Cyber Retraining Academy was a pilot initiative to retrain adults for a career in cyber security. 55 people enrolled. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is now reviewing the outcomes of the pilot. This will help determine how government investment can be best used to retrain adults to become cyber security professionals and provide an immediate boost to the cyber security workforce in the UK.

Charities: Fund Raising

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential long-term effect of providing financial support to smaller charities for fundraising training and support.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) local authorities on support provided to smaller charities to raise funds through grants and commissioning processes.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with charity-sector bodies and foundations on support provided to smaller charities for fundraising activities.

Tracey Crouch: Government is committed to building the resilience and independence of smaller charities. The Office for Civil Society in England are providing a multi-year programme of fundraising training and support. We are committed to improving public service outcomes by ensuring that small charities are able to compete for commissioned grants and contracts. This is why in December 2016, we announced the public services programme to strengthen the role of civil society organisations in the public service markets. We are continuing to work with local authority, voluntary sector and cross-government stakeholders to prepare for delivery of this programme. Our vision is of a confident and capable sector, with the ability to raise funds from diverse sources. By increasing their long term sustainability, small charities can continue their vital role in helping to build a stronger society.

Charitable Trusts

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote charity trusteeship, particularly to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Tracey Crouch: Boards of trustees allow charities across the country to improve lives and address some of the most significant challenges we face.The Government has been working with the Charity Commission and voluntary sector partners, to carry out research to understand the current makeup of trustees and to identify ways to further strengthen trusteeship.

Cybercrime: Business

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the number of cyber security breaches businesses have incurred in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: The Government’s latest research found that 46% of UK businesses identified a cyber security breach or attack in the past 12 months. This includes 45% among micro and small businesses, 66% among medium businesses and 68% among large businesses. Further details can be found in the 2017 Cyber Security Breaches Survey: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2017

Charities: Fund Raising

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department provides to small charities for fundraising training; and if she will increase the level of such support given.

Tracey Crouch: Government is committed to building the resilience and independence of smaller charities. In recognition of this, the Office for Civil Society in England are providing a multi-year programme of fundraising training and support. The aim is to help small, local charities build their fundraising skills, knowledge and confidence through face-to-face training, intensive one-to-one advice sessions, skilled volunteering matches and webinars. The training will be provided at little or no cost and the providers will also develop and share fundraising training resources and toolkits to support small charities who might not be able to attend training.

Charities

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has produced a long-term plan on providing support to build the capacity and resilience of smaller charities.

Tracey Crouch: Government is committed to supporting small charities to become more independent, resilient and sustainable. Examples of recent work include the announcement of a further three years of the Small Charities Fundraising Training Programme, our Local Sustainability Fund for small to medium sized organisations and work to explore the role of small charities in public services. The Government will continue to support small charities and will work with the sector to develop plans.

Electronic Commerce: Disadvantaged

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with large companies on ensuring that people who do not have computers are not disadvantaged when accessing services or products; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: The private sector plays an important role in helping people who do not have computers to access products and services. DCMS is working with industry to ensure consumers have this access, as set out in the UK Digital Strategy. Many large corporates pledged practical support in the Strategy, which was launched by the Secretary of State in March this year. This includes more than 4 million digital skills training opportunities, which will be delivered through the newly established Digital Skills Partnership.

Internet

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her policy is on bringing forward a Digital Charter.

Matt Hancock: As announced in the Queen's Speech, we will put forward proposals for a Digital Charter which will set out a framework for how businesses, individuals and wider society should act online. This will ensure we get the right balance between freedom and security in the digital age, so that we can harness the power of new technology for good, and mitigate the new threats it presents.

Charities: Festivals and Special Occasions

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to hold a second local charities day; and if she will make it an annual event.

Tracey Crouch: Local Charities Day in 2016 was successful and demonstrated to small, local charities how that Government values the important work they do. The Government is committed to continuing to recognise and support small local charities and an announcement on plans will be made in due course.

Charities: Data Protection

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department is providing to charities to help them prepare for the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Tracey Crouch: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports is committed to ensuring the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is adequately resourced to fulfil its new responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which includes guidance and support to businesses. The ICO has issued guidance for businesses including charities on how to prepare for the GDPR. This is available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/guidance-what-to-expect-and-when/. In addition, the Fundraising Regulator has published specific guidance for fundraising charities available at: https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/information-registration-for-fundraisers/guidance/personal-information-fundraising-consent-purpose-transparency/Both organisations continue to engage with charities to raise awareness.

Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012: Reviews

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on the review of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 announced on 8 February 2017.

Tracey Crouch: The Government is committed to the Public Services (Social Value) Act, which can unlock a range of public benefits from the procurement of goods and services. An announcement on Government's plans in relation to the Act will be made in due course.

Swimming: Clubs

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support local competitive swimming clubs.

Tracey Crouch: Sport England is the body responsible for supporting and investing in grassroots and community sport. Between 2017 and 2021 Sport England is investing £12.16 million in Swim England, the national governing body for the sport, to get more people swimming, to support local clubs and to help talented swimmers to develop. This investment includes £4.6 million to support talented athletes on Swim England's swimming, synchronised swimming and water polo programmes.

Swimming: Public Participation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to (a) ensure that all children learn to swim and (b) encourage adults to learn to swim.

Tracey Crouch: Sporting Future set out the government's commitment to ensure that no child leaves primary school unable to swim and commissioned Swim England's Swim Group to undertake a review of how children could be better supported to meet this aim. Sport England invests in a number of programmes and campaigns to encourage more adults to learn to swim. Between 2017 and 2021 Sport England is investing £12.16 million in Swim England to get more people swimming, support clubs and to help talented swimmers. This investment includes a social swimming project run by Swim England which is focused on helping adults learn to swim.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fisheries: Quotas

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the effect on fishing quota levels for (a) cod, (b) haddock, (c) coley, (d) monkfish, (e) prawn, (f) halibut, (g) mackerel, (h) herring and (i) whiting of the UK leaving the EU.

George Eustice: The UK position is that Total Allowable Catches (TAC) for all species should be should be set in line with the science to ensure we have sustainable fisheries. On leaving the EU, the UK will become an independent coastal state with responsibility for managing its EEZ and this will be an opportunity to reach new agreements on access arrangements and the UK share of the TAC for some species.

Maritime Heritage Foundation: Licensing

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the licence application currently lodged with the Marine Management Organisation by the Maritime Heritage Foundation is fully compliant with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) licences the removal of substances or objects from the sea bed within the UK marine licensing area, under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. I can confirm that an application for a marine licence has been lodged with the MMO to recover items from HMS Victory 1744. However, the MMO has not concluded its determination of that application and the issues raised by it. It should be noted that although Her Majesty’s Government is not a signatory to the Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, it has adopted the Rules for activities directed at underwater cultural heritage, found in the Annex of the Convention, as best practice. As such any recovery of items from HMS Victory will need to comply with relevant UK polices that align with these requirements. MMO will consider the application in that context and in accordance with the relevant Government policy on the issue.

Territorial Waters

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what waters the UK has historically exercised sovereign control over for management and access.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what definition has been used to identify the waters the UK has historically exercised sovereign control over.

George Eustice: Historically, prior to joining the EU, the UK was an independent coastal state and abided by international law that existed at that time. When we leave the EU we will become an independent coastal state again and will abide by international law as it exists today. From the eighteenth century until the middle of the twentieth century, UK territorial waters extended to three nautical miles. The UK extended its territorial waters to twelve nautical miles under the Territorial Sea Act, 1987. Under the Fishery Limits Act 1976, the UK extended to 200 nautical miles the area over which it exercises fisheries controls. These British Fishery Limits are largely superseded by the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone, designated through an Order in 2013. This area is currently managed as part of EU waters under the Common Fisheries Policy but will be controlled by the UK when we leave the EU.

Diesel Engines: Pollution Control

Mr William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to implement a targeted diesel scrappage scheme to tackle air pollution.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In May, the Government published a consultation on the draft UK air quality plan for tackling nitrogen dioxide. Through this consultation, the Government wants to explore how best to support local authorities to mitigate the impacts of certain measures on local businesses, residents and those travelling into towns and cities to work. A range of potential mitigation measures were identified in the consultation, including the introduction of a car scrappage scheme. We are considering responses to the consultation and the final plan is due to be published by 31 July.

Air Pollution

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce air pollution.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In May, the Government published a consultation on the draft UK air quality plan for tackling nitrogen dioxide. We are considering responses to the consultation and the final plan is due to be published by 31 July.

Fisheries: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Welsh Government on the UK's withdrawal from the London Fisheries Convention.

George Eustice: In April this year, I discussed a range of issues relating to UK fisheries with Ministers from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; including taking back the control of UK waters when we leave the EU. Plans to withdraw from the London Fisheries Convention were set out in the Government’s manifesto and so were well known to Ministers of all devolved administrations. The matter was also discussed between Defra and Welsh Government officials.

Nitrogen Dioxide: Pollution Control

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of nitrogen dioxide levels exceeding the legal limit of 40 micrograms per cubic metre.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In May, the Government published a consultation on the draft UK air quality plan for tackling nitrogen dioxide. We are considering responses to the consultation and the final plan is due to be published by 31 July.

Agriculture: West Sussex

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Agriculture Bill on the (a) dairy industry and (b) horticultural industry in West Sussex.

George Eustice: The Agriculture Bill will provide stability to farmers as we leave the EU. It will make sure that after we leave the EU we have an effective system in place to support UK farmers and protect our natural environment for future generations. We will listen to everyone who has an interest in the future of the industries as we prepare new approaches to support our farmers to grow and sell more world-class food.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Treasury: EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many EU directives are awaiting transposition into UK law.

Mr Robin Walker: Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.Once we have left the EU the process of transposing directives will cease. The Repeal Bill will repeal the European Communities Act 1972, ending the supremacy of EU law in the UK, and will preserve the domestic law we have made to transpose directives before the day we leave the EU.Please refer to the EUR-lex website for further information regarding the Directives awaiting transposition into UK law before 29 March 2019.ATTACHMENT: Round Robin guidance on EU Directives.



EU Directives guidance
(Word Document, 109 KB)

Treasury: EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when the Government plans to cease to put new EU directives into UK law.

Mr Robin Walker: Government policy and legal assessment are in place to ensure full compliance with EU legal requirements until the UK leaves the EU. This includes transposition of EU directives.Once we have left the EU the process of transposing directives will cease. The Repeal Bill will repeal the European Communities Act 1972, ending the supremacy of EU law in the UK, and will preserve the domestic law we have made to transpose directives before the day we leave the EU.ATTACHMENT: Round Robin guidance on EU Directives 



EU Directives guidance
(Word Document, 109 KB)

Immigration

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what steps he is taking to prepare for discussions with EFTA states on a reciprocal arrangement on citizens' rights with those countries.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the policy paper, The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, when discussions will begin with EFTA states on a reciprocal arrangement on rights with those countries.

Mr Robin Walker: The reciprocal agreement on citizens’ rights will apply to the entire United Kingdom, covering Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and all parts of England, and Gibraltar. We will discuss similar arrangements with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States) on a reciprocal basis.We are approaching these negotiations constructively and respectfully, with a determination to secure a deal that works for both the UK and the EU.

Equality

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will take steps to ensure that the interests of people from diverse communities are represented during the negotiations on the UK exiting the EU.

Mr Steve Baker: DExEU Ministers continue to work closely with their colleagues across Government to ensure that we are speaking with a broad range of people, who reflect the diversity of the UK. The Department is also engaging, at both Ministerial and official level, with groups and organisations who support and represent the diverse communities of the UK. We will continue to hear from these groups throughout the negotiation process.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Legal Profession

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many civil servants has been employed by his Department as specialist lawyers since its creation; what the pay grades are of those officials; how many lawyers have been seconded to his Department, from which firms, since its creation; and how much has been spent on such external legal advice and services.

Mr Steve Baker: The Department for Exiting the European Union receives legal services from the Government Legal Department so has not directly employed any civil servants or secondees as specialist lawyers. Currently there are approximately 40 GLD lawyers working for the benefit of DExEU and the costs of this work will be published in the Annual Report and Accounts shortly.

Attorney General

Counter Terrorism: Training

Jim Shannon: To ask the Attorney General, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of training anti-terrorism agencies alongside officials from the CPS so that there is a better understanding of evidence trails required by the CPS for a successful prosecution.

Jeremy Wright: Terrorism prosecutions are dealt with by a specialist unit within the CPS and there is close working between the CPS, the police and the intelligence services from the launch of an investigation to the conclusion of the trial. Regular joint training events are held for CPS, police, intelligence services and other government departments. The training has included disclosure process and strategy, terrorism offences, international investigations and mutual legal assistance, warrants of further detention, case study presentations and workshops.

Wales Office

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the delay to the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.

Alun Cairns: I have had a number of discussions and written exchanges with Ministers in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, including on the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.I remain supportive of a tidal lagoon at Swansea Bay. Nevertheless, it is essential that we ensure the project represents value for money.

UK Trade With EU

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on securing tariff-free trade with the EU for the (a) agriculture sector and (b) steel sector in Wales after the UK leaves the EU.

Alun Cairns: The UK Government is developing a trade policy that will work for every part of the United Kingdom, and will continue to champion the interests of companies and citizens across the UK, including in Wales. I am in regular contact and working closely with the Secretary of State for International Trade to ensure that we get the best possible deal for Wales and will continue to do so going forward to ensure Wales’ needs are fully considered.

Ministry of Justice

Magistrates Courts: Domestic Violence

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrates courts sittings for domestic abuse or violence cases in England and Wales have been cancelled during each of the last two years.

Dominic Raab: The information sought is not held centrally for all domestic abuse or violence cases. Information is available for the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship (s 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015). In 2016, 36 cases were either discontinued, withdrawn or discontinued where no evidence was offered.

Armed Forces: Discrimination

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2017 to Question 343, on armed forces: discrimination, to what degree sentences differ from the average when a victim of crime is a member of the armed forces and was abused or discriminated against because of their service.

Dominic Raab: The Courts can consider as an aggravating factor in sentencing the fact that an offence was committed against or directed at a member of the armed forces. It is not possible to say to what degree sentences differ as there is no central recording of whether the victim of an offence is a member of the armed forces.

Prisoners: Older People

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people aged (a) over 65 and (b) over 75 are currently held in prison.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The information requested is set out in the table below. Number of prisoners aged 65+, and 75+ held in England and Wales as of 31 March 2017:  65 and over2,839  Of whom:   75 and over698  Notes   This excludes those in the two HMPPS-operated Immigration Removal Centres (Morton Hall and The Verne) Data sources and quality  The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.  Source: Derived from Offender Management statistics quarterly: October to December Published 27th April 2017

Prison Officers

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers are employed in England and were employed in (a) 2010 and (b) April 2016.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Information on the number of prison officers employed in England as at March 2010 is contained in table 1 below: Table 1: Band 3-5 Officers employed in England, 31 March 2010  HeadcountFull-Time Equivalent31 March 201024,94224,248 Information on the number of prisons officers employed in England and Wales for 31 March 2016 and 2017 can be found in the workforce bulletin publications. For data as at 31 March 2016, please see tables 3 and 10:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics-march-2016 For data as at 31 March 2107, please see tables 3 and 12:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-offender-management-service-workforce-quarterly-march-2017 The Government is committed to recruiting an extra 2,500 frontline officers by the end of 2018.

Mental Illness: Discrimination

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) charged, (b) found guilty and (c) sentenced under the Equality Act 2010 for mental health discrimination in each year since 2010.

Dr Phillip Lee: Mental health discrimination is not a prosecutable offence. Discrimination cases are heard by civil courts and employment tribunals. The available data on those proceedings does not distinguish between different types of disability.

Parc Prison

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are currently serving public protection sentences at HM Prison Parc.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are currently serving public protection sentences in prisons in Wales.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are currently serving public protection sentences.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners currently serving public protection sentences have completed the tariff period set by their original sentence.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are currently serving public protection sentences at HM Prison Cardiff.

Mr Sam Gyimah: As at 31 March 2017, there were 3,528 prisoners serving a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). Of these, 542 were pre-tariff and 2,985 were post-tariff. Data concerning IPP prisoners is published in the quarterly offender management statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly Table 1 shows the number of prisoners serving IPP sentences at prisons in Wales. This is also broken down to show the number of prisoners serving IPP sentences in HMP Cardiff and HMP Parc. Table 1: Number of prisoners serving IPP sentences at prisons in Wales; as at 31 March 2017   31-Mar-17Total102   of which:HMP Cardiff7   HMP Parc27 Data sources and quality  The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and the Parole Board will continue to work together to improve the progression of IPP prisoners. This group continue to achieve release in high numbers, with 576 first time IPP releases in 2016, the highest figure since the sentence was introduced.

Cabinet Office

Chemical Weapons: Syria

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Joint Intelligence Committee has made of the claim by the US Administration that preparations for an imminent attack using chemical weapons are being made by the Syrian Government.

Damian Green: The Prime Minister has tasked the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee to provide the National Security Council with frequently updated assessments of the information held by the government and our allies on matters of this nature. It would not be appropriate, for reasons of national security, to make these assessments public.

Chemical Weapons: Syria

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the Joint Intelligence Committee's findings on the chemical weapons attack on 4 April 2017 in Khan Sheikhoun.

Damian Green: I refer the honourable member to the statement by the Foreign Secretary on 18 April 2017 which provides the government's assessment of the attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria on 4 April.

Chemical Weapons: Syria

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will request an independent assessment by the Joint Intelligence Committee of the (a) total size of the Syrian Government's stockpile of chemical weapons, (b) number and location of facilities at which chemical weapons are stored by the Syrian Government, (c) number and location of facilities involved in the production of chemical weapons on behalf of the Syrian Government and (d) likelihood of another attack by Syrian Government forces in which chemical weapons are used; and if he will publish a summary of that assessment.

Damian Green: The Prime Minister has tasked the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee to provide the National Security Council with frequently updated assessments of the information held by the government and our allies on matters of this nature. It would not be appropriate, for reasons of national security, to make these assessments public.

Democratic Unionist Party

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what advice the Government received from sources outside the Civil Service on the agreement on confidence and supply recently reached between the Government and the Democratic Unionist Party.

Damian Green: The civil service provided support for Government Ministers on issues relating to Government business. Beyond that this is a political agreement between two parties.

Public Sector: Ethnic Groups

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he plans to publish the previous Government's audit on racial disparities in public services announced on 27 August 2016.

Damian Green: We are committed to the Race Disparity Audit and expect to publish the findings soon.

Democratic Unionist Party

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Salisbury convention will apply to manifesto commitments of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Chris Skidmore: The Salisbury Convention is an important convention whereby the House of Lords does not vote against measures included in the governing Party's manifesto. The DUP are not in Government.

Democratic Unionist Party

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will extend the membership of the Coordination Committee to be established between the Government and the Democratic Unionist Party to the hon. Member for North Down.

Damian Green: The modus operandi of the coordination committee will need to be agreed between the Conservative party and the Democratic Unionist party. It will be attended by members of the Conservative Party and the DUP to support the agreement made between the two parties.

Political Parties: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether ending the anonymity of political donations to parties in Northern Ireland was discussed with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) before the deal was signed between the Government and the DUP on 26 June 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: The terms of the deal between the Conservative party and the DUP have been set out in the agreement.The rules about transparency of political donations are set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. The Government intends to bring forward legislation to extend transparency that already exists for political parties in Great Britain to also cover donations and loans received by Northern Ireland parties on or after 1 July 2017.

Democratic Unionist Party

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) composition and (b) frequency of meetings is of the Co-ordination Committee agreed to be established on 26 June 2017 in the confidence and supply deal agreed between the Democratic Unionist Party and the Government; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: The modus operandi of the coordination committee will be agreed between the Conservative party and the Democratic Unionist party. It will be attended by members of the Conservative Party and the DUP to support the agreement made between the two parties.

Democratic Unionist Party

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the constitutional status of the Co-ordination Committee to be established between the Government and the Democratic Unionist Party in accordance with the deal agreed between them on 26 June 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: The Coordination Committee will be established to support the political agreement made between the Conservative party and the Democratic Unionist party.

Cabinet Office: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Caroline Nokes: The government is committed to providing services that are digital by default - reducing paper and manual processing, reducing cost and improving user satisfaction. The Government Digital Service (GDS), part of the Cabinet Office, leads government in transforming services based around user needs, reducing reliance on paper-based systems and saving money for the taxpayer.

Constituencies

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to use the June 2017 electoral registration figures to inform a future boundary review.

Chris Skidmore: The Government's manifesto re-affirms the commitment to deliver equal and updated boundaries and reduce the size of the House of Commons. Following laws already passed by Parliament that set out the date of the electoral register to be used at boundary reviews, and provide that the current Boundary Review should be based on the electoral registers from 2015, the independent and impartial Boundary Commissions are consulting on their proposals to deliver the boundary changes, and they will submit their final proposals to Parliament in autumn 2018. These reforms will ensure fair and equal representation for the voting public across the United Kingdom. Equalising the size of constituencies in the Boundary Review will ensure everyone’s vote will carry equal weight. Without such boundary reforms, MPs could end up representing constituencies based on data that is over 20 years’ old, disregarding significant changes in demographics, house building and migration.

Constituencies

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it remains Government policy to reduce the number of parliamentary constituencies to 600.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Constituency Boundary Review is on track to report by 1 October 2018.

Chris Skidmore: The Government's manifesto re-affirms the commitment to deliver equal and updated boundaries and reduce the size of the House of Commons. The progress of the current boundary review, which is proceeding in accordance with the laws already passed by Parliament, is a matter for the independent and impartial Boundary Commissions. Further information can be found on the websites for each of the four Boundary Commissions.

Elections: Law

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to respond to the Law Commission's 2016 review of electoral law.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to introduce a requirement for voters to produce personal identification at a polling station to receive a ballot paper.

Chris Skidmore: In line with its manifesto commitment, the Government intends to legislate to ensure that a form of identification must be presented before voting. It is intended that this requirement be tested through pilot schemes at the May 2018 elections. Pilots will help to identify the best way of administering this new requirement. The Government is continuing to work with the Law Commission on how best to implement the recommendations of their review of electoral law in collaboration with other stakeholders. We will respond to their report in due course.

Electronic Government: Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that all content on the gov.uk website is accessible to Welsh language users.

Caroline Nokes: Cabinet Office is committed to ensuring that the needs of Welsh language speakers are recognised and met. GOV.UK gives every central government organisation the ability to publish content in Welsh.There are currently more than 2,000 Welsh-language pages on GOV.UK, an increase of over 50 percent in the past 12 months.

Government Departments: Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Government services are only available in the Welsh language on request.

Caroline Nokes: Government departments are accountable for the provision of their services in the Welsh language, guided by the requirements of their individual Welsh Language schemes. Each department has its own system for understanding the need to translate services, for example whether they accept translation requests from the public.

Government Departments: Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a right to equality of service for Welsh language users of Government digital services.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing all Government digital services in the Welsh language in addition to English.

Caroline Nokes: We are committed to ensuring that the needs of Welsh language speakers are recognised and met. The Government Digital Service is working together with Wales Office to understand how high-quality online user journeys can best be provided to Welsh-language speakers.

Constituencies

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing parliamentary constituencies representing overseas voters in Parliament.

Chris Skidmore: The Government does not support the creation of parliamentary constituencies for overseas electors. The current and proposed overseas voting arrangements are based on the principle that overseas electors continue to have some form of connection to the area of the country where they were last resident. This is the approach taken generally in other democracies with overseas voting. The creation of overseas constituencies would also require changes to the way that electoral administration (the registration of voters and the conduct of polls) is organised in Great Britain, where responsibility lies at the local authority level. It would clearly not be appropriate for the Government to carry out these functions for overseas constituencies.